Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 554,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.97% of Kirby worth $58,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $74,293,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Kirby by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $92,712,000 after purchasing an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Kirby by 848.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 393,647 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $41,648,000 after purchasing an additional 352,144 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Kirby by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,749,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $108.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS 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.