Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $4.92 Million Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,528 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 13,276 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Kirby were worth $4,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 27.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,418,000 after buying an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,961,000 after purchasing an additional 16,497 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Kirby by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 202,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Kirby by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $104.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.94. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $92.13 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.