Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Stock Holdings Increased by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Kirby were worth $188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Kirby Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $89.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.89. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $85.33 and a twelve month 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. The company 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 0.99.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS 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, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.