King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 65,296 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,392,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 65,296 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 2.64% of Kirby worth $182,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth approximately $62,549,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Kirby by 136.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,319 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 12,311 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Kirby by 78.0% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,155 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,780,000 after purchasing an additional 15,406 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Kirby by 8.2% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 761,099 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $99,894,000 after purchasing an additional 57,371 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,860,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Kirby from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.43.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $127.99 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.10 and a 52 week high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The shipping company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $977.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.84 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 10.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, CEO David Grzebinski sold 18,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.32, for a total value of $2,587,569.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,295,848.92. This trade represents a 18.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a marine transportation and services company founded in 1921 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its marine transportation business moves bulk liquid products by tank barge and towboat across U.S. inland waterways and along the coast. Cargoes include petrochemicals, refined petroleum products and other industrial liquids. The company also provides coastal marine transportation, serving customers in U.S. coastal markets. Its vessels and barges support the movement of liquid commodities between ports and other destinations.