Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Update

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 599,900 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the November 30th total of 716,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 486,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. This trade represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 420.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $105.35. The stock had a trading volume of 149,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,875. Kirby has a 1 year low of $74.88 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.45 EPS 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.