Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $7.60 Million Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 47.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,811 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 23,118 shares during the quarter. Kirby comprises 1.8% of Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Kirby were worth $7,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $117,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 27.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after acquiring an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $55,620,000 after acquiring an additional 48,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock opened at $101.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $92.13 and a one year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.04.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS 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 9.71%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

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.