EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 58.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,503 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 9,394 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,749,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $16,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 27.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after purchasing an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 221,460 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after purchasing an additional 106,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $104.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.87. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

About Kirby

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.