Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 21,022 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $7,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total transaction of $119,652.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KEX. Wolfe Research began coverage on Kirby in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock opened at $101.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $66.42 and a 12-month high of $102.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.37.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.