56,962 Shares in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 56,962 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,027,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 0.10% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 38.8% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $100.67 on Thursday. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $89.28 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.28. 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 company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 9.71%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

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.