Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 940,700 shares, a growth of 56.8% from the December 15th total of 599,900 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 518,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. This trade represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 420.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE KEX traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.27. 321,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 635,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.21 and its 200 day moving average is $118.70. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $76.12 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.