Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,594 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,323 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.05% of Kirby worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,293,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Kirby by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $92,712,000 after buying an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 848.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 393,647 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $41,648,000 after buying an additional 352,144 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $18,749,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Down 0.0 %

KEX opened at $102.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.68 and a 200-day moving average of $108.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KEX. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

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.