Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Holdings Reduced by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 66.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,869 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 127,550 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.11% of Kirby worth $6,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $89.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.83 and its 200-day moving average is $112.82. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $85.33 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

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.