Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 63,611 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,611 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 3.12% of Kirby worth $143,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.9% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,957 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $258,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 6.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $689,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 355.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,027 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 36,698 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 6,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.05, for a total value of $637,310.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,853,455.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 6,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.05, for a total value of $637,310.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,162 shares of company stock valued at $4,752,143 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $118.59 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.24. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $124.92.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

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.