Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 384,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Kirby worth $30,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $194,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Kirby by 90,400.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.50, for a total value of $179,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 926 shares in the company, valued at $110,657. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kirby news, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.50, for a total value of $179,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,657. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,853,455.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,934 shares of company stock valued at $4,547,167 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. 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 for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $117.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.81. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $124.92. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 EPS for the current 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.