Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 17,382 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,098 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 17,382 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Kirby were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Kirby by 80.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,809 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $869,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Kirby in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 10.4% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,028 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 186,629 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $15,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total value of $409,687.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,804.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,179 shares of company stock valued at $3,968,537 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.97. 332,307 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 424,268. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $69.22 and a 1 year high of $116.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $97.71 and its 200-day moving average is $85.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 8.01%. Kirby's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company 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.