Fruth Investment Management Cuts Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Fruth Investment Management decreased its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,367 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the first quarter worth $28,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Kirby in the first quarter worth $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 147.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 351 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Kirby by 40.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.00.

Kirby Trading Up 1.1%

Kirby stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.83. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.94 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.94 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share 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.