Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Bought by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 428,406 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,477 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.77% of Kirby worth $36,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,256,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,784,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $138,966,000 after buying an additional 299,981 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Kirby by 438.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,499 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,657,000 after buying an additional 221,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KEX. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.60.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $477,892.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,224.20. This represents a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raj Kumar sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $398,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,353.80. This trade represents a 40.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock opened at $126.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $134.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $125.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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

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.