Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 62.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,145 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 8,731 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Kirby were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.75.

Kirby Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $100.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.62. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $93.63 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.