Hodges Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,048 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Kirby worth $4,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,418,000 after acquiring an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Kirby by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Kirby by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 35,353 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its position in Kirby by 51.2% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 16,497 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 27.6% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 57,456 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,034,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $109.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.71. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $78.63 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly 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 9.78%. As a group, analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.40.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.