Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 26,892 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 32.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,531 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 26,892 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $5,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth $165,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $194,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth $224,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total transaction of $74,089.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,284.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,806 shares of company stock valued at $3,945,225. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Kirby has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.20.

Kirby Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE KEX traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 670,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,491. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $124.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.41 and a 200 day moving average of $96.27.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 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.