Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 45,195 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 2,655.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,897 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,195 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Kirby were worth $4,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,182 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 7,643 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $16,390,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $110.32 on Monday. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $83.94 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.12 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.