9,000 Shares in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,078,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,824,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,781,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the first quarter valued at approximately $22,877,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,185,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total value of $1,729,881.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total value of $1,729,881.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,178. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $127.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $130.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 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.