Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) is VELA Investment Management LLC’s Largest Position

VELA Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,207 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,585 shares during the quarter. Kirby comprises about 4.4% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Kirby worth $14,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Kirby by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,559 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the first quarter worth $1,093,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 4.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $133,624,000 after purchasing an additional 54,755 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.28. The stock had a trading volume of 630,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,506. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $72.11 and a 12 month high of $130.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.06.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Kirby’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,267. Company insiders own 1.50% 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.