Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 3.10% of Kirby worth $186,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,746,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $74,293,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,495 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,086,000 after purchasing an additional 19,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its stake in Kirby by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 25,503 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 9,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.75.

Kirby Stock Up 1.4 %

KEX stock opened at $103.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $93.85 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 9.71%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Company 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.