2,431 Shares in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,431 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 22,313 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,099,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 82,578 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,737,000 after acquiring an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 44,825 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.25.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock traded down $0.77 on Tuesday, reaching $99.48. The company had a trading volume of 567,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $106.69 and its 200 day moving average is $115.94. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $86.02 and a 1 year high of $132.21.

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

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.