Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 5,937 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,019 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Kirby worth $16,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Kirby by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $197,444,000 after buying an additional 389,005 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 69.3% in the first quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 776,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,384,000 after acquiring an additional 317,721 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,741,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,817,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 527,789 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $52,441,000 after purchasing an additional 250,601 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $88.78 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.62 and its 200-day moving average is $100.69. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.00. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million for 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KEX. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup started coverage on Kirby in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kirby from $122.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.