Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Update

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 797,100 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the October 31st total of 882,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 438,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 35.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after buying an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 33.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 5.7% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $97,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 27.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after purchasing an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of KEX traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.38. 557,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,035. Kirby has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.