Amundi Makes New $2.14 Million Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Amundi bought a new position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,308 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 7,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $18,749,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $100.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.02 and a 200-day moving average of $114.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $88.34 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. Equities analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

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.