Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 177,215 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $18,749,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.31% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Kirby by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Kirby stock traded up $2.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $98.54. The stock had a trading volume of 152,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,704. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $83.94 and a 1 year high of $132.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.