Wolverine Trading LLC Trims Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Wolverine Trading LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 81.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,405 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,449 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth $65,928,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 33.9% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after acquiring an additional 224,802 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 68.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 477,233 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $58,428,000 after purchasing an additional 194,410 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $22,106,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,585,000 after purchasing an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Down 0.4 %

KEX stock opened at $117.45 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $74.88 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.87.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. This trade represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,541,440. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.