Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Acquired by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 884.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,451 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,498 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Kirby were worth $5,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Kirby by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,256,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the second quarter valued at $73,784,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Kirby by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $138,966,000 after purchasing an additional 299,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 438.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,499 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $22,657,000 after acquiring an additional 221,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $125.96 on Tuesday. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.Kirby’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $4,441,467.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,776,242.05. The trade was a 25.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 5,429 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $662,338.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,678. This represents a 34.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.