Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 9,242 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 233,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,242 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $24,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,749,000. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 73,011 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,725,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Kirby by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 87,184 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,224,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 69,118 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. 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 research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE KEX opened at $93.46 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.87 and its 200-day moving average is $111.58. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $83.94 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 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 predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

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.