Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 72.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Kirby were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 203,308 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $23,057,000 after acquiring an additional 14,695 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 9,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Kirby by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 714,127 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $80,989,000 after acquiring an additional 80,315 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management acquired a new stake in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $85.58 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Kirby from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Kirby in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.40.

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.