Signaturefd LLC Buys 202 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,418,000 after buying an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,961,000 after buying an additional 16,497 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Kirby by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Kirby by 112.0% during 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, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Kirby by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE KEX opened at $101.31 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.67 and a 200-day moving average of $114.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $92.13 and a 52 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

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.