Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,287 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 46,763 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Kirby were worth $7,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Kirby by 0.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Kirby by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 91.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.5 %

KEX stock opened at $122.82 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $130.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $118.43 and a 200-day moving average of $113.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KEX. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at $7,637,043.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,267 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.