Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Raises Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 918 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Kirby worth $4,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 2.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 8.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $106.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.24 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.