Oxford Asset Management LLP Takes $473,000 Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,472 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 433.3% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,600 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX traded up $3.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.48. 1,339,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 537,103. The business's 50 day moving average price is $97.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $83.94 and a 1 year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

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.