Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Position Reduced by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,732 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 21,439 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Kirby were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth $33,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock worth $7,515,760. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $129.39 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $123.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

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.