Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 68.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 477,233 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,410 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $58,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Kirby by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 16,373 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $22,877,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.9% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,370 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:KEX opened at $129.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.53. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $132.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released 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. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total value of $1,729,881.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,571,454.34. The trade was a 52.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock worth $7,515,760. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.