Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 134,261 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,261 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Kirby worth $472,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Kirby during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 466.7% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 374 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 559.3% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 38.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 5,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $662,338.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,399 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,678. This trade represents a 34.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total value of $477,892.80. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,224.20. This trade represents a 52.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,701 shares of company stock valued at $4,308,738. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.40.

Kirby Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $130.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.88. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $132.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS 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.