V Square Quantitative Management LLC Buys 764 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Kirby by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 38,803 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 221,460 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after acquiring an additional 106,411 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $1,142,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kirby Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KEX opened at $108.47 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $108.48 and a 200 day moving average of $116.70. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.56 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus 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.