Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 17,593 Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,106,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.4% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 1.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 91.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 56.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $114.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $118.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.11. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

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.