Evergreen Capital Management LLC Takes $330,000 Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,957 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KEX. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 67.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Kirby by 49.4% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 38.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 4.5% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Kirby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $134.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.50.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $128.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $132.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $843.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total transaction of $171,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,326.96. This trade represents a 61.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 10,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.42, for a total value of $1,118,564.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,259.20. This trade represents a 46.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.