Royce & Associates LP Lowers Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,479 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 60,355 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.19% of Kirby worth $8,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in Kirby by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 466.7% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 374 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 38.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 559.3% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total transaction of $4,441,467.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,776,242.05. This trade represents a 25.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 5,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $662,338.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,268,678. This represents a 34.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 68,353 shares of company stock worth $8,579,025 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Kirby stock opened at $133.85 on Wednesday. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KEX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.40.

Kirby 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.