HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 2,517 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 11.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,544 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,517 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 91.0% in the 2nd 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,541,440 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $117.51 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $74.88 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.