Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Update

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 940,700 shares, a growth of 56.8% from the December 15th total of 599,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 518,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Kirby Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Kirby stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 804,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,616. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.90 and a 200 day moving average of $118.64. Kirby has a 12 month low of $76.12 and a 12 month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,418,000 after buying an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 7.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Kirby by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 70.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,965,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.