New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,187 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Kirby worth $6,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Kirby by 8.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Kirby by 2.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $108.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.60. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $84.56 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.