Hourglass Capital LLC Raises Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Hourglass Capital LLC raised its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC owned 0.08% of Kirby worth $4,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $10,442,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Kirby by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 38,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,105,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 221,460 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after purchasing an additional 106,411 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KEX. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $108.47 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.74. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $84.56 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

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.