Select Equity Group L.P. Has $165.65 Million Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 581,215 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 2.73% of Kirby worth $165,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Kirby by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $186,488,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kirby by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $92,712,000 after purchasing an additional 359,770 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 815,008 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $86,228,000 after purchasing an additional 100,655 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 754,785 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,856,000 after purchasing an additional 76,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $74,293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded down $0.98 on Thursday, hitting $106.93. 159,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 609,774. The company's 50 day moving average price is $99.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $83.94 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

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.