Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Stock Position Decreased by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,048 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $4,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.40.

Kirby Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $109.13 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $78.63 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value 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 approximately $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kirby 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.