Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Position Reduced by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 401,440 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 17,840 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.68% of Kirby worth $31,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $173,886,000 after buying an additional 495,541 shares during the period. RK Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $8,412,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 273.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 104,329 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,638,000 after acquiring an additional 76,393 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby in the third quarter worth about $6,191,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $498,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 676 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $74,089.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,574,284.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total transaction of $119,652.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $74,089.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,574,284.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,266 shares of company stock valued at $4,861,102. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 0.9 %

KEX traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.17. 530,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 423,031. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $69.22 and a 1 year high of $114.35. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.