New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,960 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,497 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Kirby by 2.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 12,142.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 26,567 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 26,350 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 34.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Kirby by 5.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,726 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

Kirby Stock Up 1.8 %

KEX opened at $104.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $86.02 and a one year high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. Analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby 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.