Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Purchased by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 312.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 19,705 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Luminus Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 292.0% in the 3rd quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 116,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after buying an additional 87,120 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the second quarter worth about $692,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 64.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 19,833 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in Kirby by 72.7% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 5,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Kirby by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $207,357.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,071.04. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total value of $299,437.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,744.25. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KEX. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.67.

Kirby Stock Up 0.4%

KEX stock opened at $124.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $126.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $843.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.