Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 9,242 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,242 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Kirby worth $24,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Kirby by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock opened at $93.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $83.94 and a 52-week high of $132.21.

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

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.