Optas LLC Acquires New Shares in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Optas LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 244.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 231 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Kirby by 147.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 351 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:KEX opened at $79.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.00. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $132.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.49.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.Kirby’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kirby from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.40.

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.