Short Interest in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Increases By 56.8%

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 940,700 shares, a growth of 56.8% from the December 15th total of 599,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 518,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. This trade represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $305,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 12.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,067 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,788 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,965,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,233,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.93. 284,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 633,874. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $116.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.70. Kirby has a 12 month low of $76.12 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Company 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.