BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,594 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,566 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Kirby were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1,247.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,373 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 11,455 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 319,752 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,284,000 after acquiring an additional 23,086 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Kirby by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 35,353 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,965,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $117.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $74.88 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.