Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,025 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,061,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 295.3% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock opened at $110.32 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $83.94 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

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.