Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Up 20.0% in February

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the January 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 634,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Kirby Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.03. 610,972 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 670,540. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby has a twelve month low of $86.02 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $106.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.40.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Kirby by 27.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,418,000 after buying an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 35,353 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 16,497 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 202,272 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Kirby by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.25.

About Kirby

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.