Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 106,411 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 92.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,460 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,411 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $23,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 420.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Kirby Trading Up 0.8 %

KEX stock opened at $108.47 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $84.56 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.74.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% 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.