5,805 Shares in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Purchased by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,805 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kirby by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $106,246,000 after acquiring an additional 224,802 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $97,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 27.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after acquiring an additional 152,146 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $111.53 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.70. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $75.60 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

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.