Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 165.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,222 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 9,490 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KEX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $186,488,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth $74,293,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $55,620,000 after purchasing an additional 48,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Kirby by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $95.72 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.00.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.