Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases 29,148 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 380.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,148 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP owned about 0.07% of Kirby worth $3,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 131,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,932,000 after acquiring an additional 20,399 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,030,000. Luminus Management LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 292.0% in the 3rd quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 116,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after acquiring an additional 87,120 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 239.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 160,475 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 16,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.60.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction 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 represents a 52.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total transaction of $1,508,893.11. Following the sale, the vice president owned 14,814 shares in the company, valued at $1,915,894.62. This represents a 44.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 82,640 shares of company stock worth $10,470,847. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $124.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.27.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.Kirby’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company Profile

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.