HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Acquires 124,014 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 125.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,732 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,014 shares during the quarter. Kirby accounts for approximately 1.4% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.39% of Kirby worth $22,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $165,650,000 after purchasing an additional 581,215 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 9.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,300,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $131,323,000 after purchasing an additional 107,240 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 815,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $86,228,000 after buying an additional 100,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 754,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,856,000 after buying an additional 76,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:KEX opened at $96.59 on Monday. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.94 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.24 and its 200 day moving average is $105.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

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.