JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 27.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 30,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $17,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $105.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.24. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $74.88 and a 52-week 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.

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

Kirby Company 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.