Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,711 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 602 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Kirby were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,749,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Kirby by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,980 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,769,000 after purchasing an additional 44,941 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Kirby by 433.3% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Kirby by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $92,712,000 after purchasing an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE KEX opened at $96.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.94 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.39.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America increased their price target on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

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.