Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,616 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after buying an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $18,749,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth $349,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:KEX opened at $110.23 on Tuesday. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.47.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KEX. Bank of America raised their price target on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

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.