Seven Eight Capital LP Makes New $201,000 Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,675 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after buying an additional 81,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,521,000 after acquiring an additional 63,611 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $133,624,000 after purchasing an additional 54,755 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after purchasing an additional 90,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Kirby by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,012 shares of company stock worth $5,932,197 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $124.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.60.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KEX. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

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.