Calamos Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 420.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.6 %

KEX opened at $108.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $83.24 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.43.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. This represents a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

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.