Raymond James & Associates Buys 1,036 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,845 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Kirby were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 168,207 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kirby by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 114,621 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,995,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $498,118,000 after buying an additional 64,420 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 93.7% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 20,453 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 9,892 shares during the period. Finally, BRYN MAWR TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kirby Trading Up 10.9 %

NYSE KEX opened at $112.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $66.42 and a twelve month high of $114.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $92.72 and its 200 day moving average is $83.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total value of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Company 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.