Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Holdings Boosted by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 581,215 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 2.73% of Kirby worth $165,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Kirby by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $43,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,486 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,749,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,402 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.18. 512,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 541,257. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.49.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday.

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.