Strs Ohio Sells 15,927 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Strs Ohio reduced its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 92.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,335 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 15,927 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Kirby were worth $111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Kirby by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 466.7% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 374 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research decreased their target price 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.68, for a total transaction of $1,244,673.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,656,772.80. This represents a 42.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total value of $171,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,326.96. The trade was a 61.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of KEX opened at $121.62 on Thursday. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $132.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $117.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 10.54%.The business had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kirby

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.