Pinebridge Investments L.P. Purchases New Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,856,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 433.3% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Kirby by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $96.67 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.20 and a 200-day moving average of $109.44. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.