18,311 Shares in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Purchased by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Kirby by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $96.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.11. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

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.