Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Holdings Lowered by Principal Street Partners LLC

Principal Street Partners LLC reduced its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 74.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,773 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,115 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 224,802 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 5.7% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $97,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,685 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,928,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 533,326 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $63,855,000 after purchasing an additional 61,573 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $129.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $124.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. This represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.