Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 250,710 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 47,134 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $23,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Kirby by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 630,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,471,000 after buying an additional 68,420 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after acquiring an additional 43,465 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Kirby by 166.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Kirby by 21.4% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 157,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 32.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 16,373 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $3.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $117.24. 147,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,889. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $72.11 and a 1 year high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total transaction of $409,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,804.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 77,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,853,455.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total value of $409,687.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,804.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,319 shares of company stock worth $3,896,633 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

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.