Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 5,914 Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $498,118,000 after acquiring an additional 64,420 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Kirby by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,213,354 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $348,866,000 after acquiring an additional 38,664 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $205,954,000 after acquiring an additional 62,378 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,886,000 after acquiring an additional 495,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $61,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Kirby in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.20.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total value of $409,687.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares in the company, valued at $102,804.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,853,455.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total value of $409,687.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,804.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,162 shares of company stock worth $4,752,143 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $118.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.07. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $124.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company 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.