Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 158.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 765 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $92,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Kirby by 0.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 3.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Kirby by 56.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in Kirby by 2.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $123.05 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.80. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 0.75 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.

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

Insider Activity at Kirby

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 stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.