Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Stock Holdings Cut by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 87.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,272 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 97,455 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $74,293,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 848.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 393,647 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $41,648,000 after buying an additional 352,144 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,749,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,390,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $95.18 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.70. 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. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Company 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.