Tectonic Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,188 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $6,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 68.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 477,233 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $58,428,000 after acquiring an additional 194,410 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $16,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 27.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,585,000 after acquiring an additional 152,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 48.7% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 234,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,710,000 after acquiring an additional 76,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.40.

Kirby Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $107.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $81.87 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

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

Kirby 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.