Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)’s share price was down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $101.40 and last traded at $102.50. Approximately 144,488 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 500,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 33.9% in the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after buying an additional 224,802 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $97,255,000 after acquiring an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,585,000 after acquiring an additional 152,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

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.