Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 713,960 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 31.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,568,905 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 713,960 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.89% of Kirby worth $130,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 67.1% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 559.3% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Kirby by 21.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KEX shares. Zacks Research lowered Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. BTIG Research cut their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total value of $477,892.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,224.20. This trade represents a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total transaction of $1,493,721.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,493,721.58. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $124.24 on Tuesday. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.