Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 401,440 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 17,840 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Kirby were worth $31,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 25,866 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in Kirby by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 30,993 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after buying an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Kirby by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after buying an additional 14,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,705 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total transaction of $119,652.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,126.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,590 shares of company stock worth $4,787,013 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $109.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.19. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $69.22 and a 1 year high of $114.35.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby 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.