Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 873.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,726 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,132 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Kirby were worth $4,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Kirby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 668,251 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $70,701,000 after purchasing an additional 7,455 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 754,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,856,000 after buying an additional 76,436 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Kirby by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,035 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,513,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.2%

Kirby stock opened at $108.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.78. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.