Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Bought by Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,642 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 886 shares during the quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in Kirby by 24.8% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $197,444,000 after purchasing an additional 389,005 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 776,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,384,000 after acquiring an additional 317,721 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the first quarter worth about $31,741,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,817,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 527,789 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $52,441,000 after acquiring an additional 250,601 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total transaction of $299,437.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,744.25. This represents a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $207,357.09. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,071.04. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $107.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.78. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 9.22%.The business had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $843.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KEX. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.40.

Kirby 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.