Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $18.75 Million in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 177,215 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,749,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.31% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Kirby by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.0 %

Kirby stock opened at $95.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kirby

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.