Simmons Bank Has $1.53 Million Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Simmons Bank lessened its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,483 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,265 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 129,471 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,160,000 after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 25,866 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Kirby by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 30,993 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,432,000 after acquiring an additional 12,455 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after acquiring an additional 14,201 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $1,537,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raj Kumar sold 1,670 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $146,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,296. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,022 shares of company stock valued at $3,911,911. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KEX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.32. 473,594 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $69.22 and a 52 week high of $114.35.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

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.