Hourglass Capital LLC Grows Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Hourglass Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $4,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Kirby Stock Up 0.8 %

KEX stock opened at $108.47 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $84.56 and a one year high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.