Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 168.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,700 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 93,295 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.26% of Kirby worth $15,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 20.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Kirby by 112.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,208 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter worth about $5,136,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 27.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $17,418,000 after acquiring an additional 30,713 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.36. The company had a trading volume of 48,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,002. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $99.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

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.