Franklin Resources Inc. Has $41.65 Million Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 848.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 393,647 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 352,144 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $41,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 38.8% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $89.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.83 and a 200-day moving average of $112.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $85.33 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.