Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Makes New $8.10 Million Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 67,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,095,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Kirby by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 43,868 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,426,000 after acquiring an additional 32,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $277,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Bank of America increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $122.82 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.00.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.65 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.