Primecap Management Co. CA Buys 44,000 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 285,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 44,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Kirby were worth $23,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 67.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Kirby by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,003 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 5,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $662,338.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,399 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,678. The trade was a 34.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total value of $1,508,893.11. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 14,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,894.62. The trade was a 44.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 69,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,750,205 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KEX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.40.

Kirby Trading Up 0.1%

KEX stock opened at $129.78 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $132.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.82.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.