Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,805 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of KEX traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.91. The company had a trading volume of 804,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,616. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $76.12 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 15,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kirby 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.