Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,651 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 6,140 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 244.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 231 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth about $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Kirby by 67.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Kirby by 40.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Kirby stock opened at $107.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.05. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $131.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.81 and a 200-day moving average of $101.89.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 9.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.40.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $207,357.09. Following the sale, the director owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,071.04. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 10,413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.42, for a total transaction of $1,118,564.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,259.20. The trade was a 46.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 44,502 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,691 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.