Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,019 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.13% of Kirby worth $5,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,157 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,957 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Kirby by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Kirby by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 5,553 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in Kirby by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 23,349 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kirby news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,016 shares of company stock valued at $5,270,790 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 0.9 %

KEX stock opened at $110.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.22 and a fifty-two week high of $114.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KEX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby 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.