Corient Private Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Kirby in the third quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 38.8% in the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby in the third quarter valued at $202,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KEX opened at $101.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.05. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $92.13 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% 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.