Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 91.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $123.05 on Wednesday. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $130.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $120.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.80. 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 (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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.