Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 928,600 shares, a growth of 14.3% from the September 30th total of 812,500 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 449,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Kirby by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,559 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Kirby by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the first quarter worth about $2,252,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,093,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KEX shares. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE:KEX traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.60. The stock had a trading volume of 403,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,818. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $130.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kirby

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.