Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 928,600 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the September 30th total of 812,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 449,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Kirby during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,928,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at $22,877,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Kirby by 33.9% in the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after purchasing an additional 224,802 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter valued at $22,106,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the second quarter valued at $14,185,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX traded down $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $115.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 161,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,671. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.