Nicholas Investment Partners LP Acquires New Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,270,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.08% of Kirby at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Insider Activity

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

Kirby Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE KEX opened at $114.63 on Thursday. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $72.11 and a 12 month high of $130.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.30 and a 200-day moving average of $110.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.