Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.76 and its 200-day moving average is $120.61. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby has a 52-week low of $74.88 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

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

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 1,247.8% during the 2nd 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 raised its position in shares of Kirby by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 319,752 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,284,000 after acquiring an additional 23,086 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Kirby by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 35,353 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 70.7% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.