Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 848.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 393,647 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 352,144 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Kirby worth $41,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 118,768 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $12,566,000 after purchasing an additional 29,736 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Kirby by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $186,488,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,191 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $3,746,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,293,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.
Kirby Trading Down 2.7 %
Shares of NYSE:KEX traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $93.35. The stock had a trading volume of 81,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,809. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.80. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.
Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on KEX
About Kirby
(
Free Report)
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.
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