Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Sells 29,767 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 31.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,274 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 29,767 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $7,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Kirby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,521,000 after purchasing an additional 63,611 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 4.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $133,624,000 after purchasing an additional 54,755 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Kirby by 10.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after purchasing an additional 90,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Kirby by 21.4% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 157,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the 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 directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at $7,637,043.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,267 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $122.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $130.90. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.00.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current 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.