Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Cuts Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kirby by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $205,954,000 after purchasing an additional 62,378 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 23,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,868,000 after buying an additional 6,633 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $114.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $118.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.11. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

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.