Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,189 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Kirby comprises approximately 1.4% of Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $204,154,000 after acquiring an additional 12,337 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,790 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 11,979 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its position in Kirby by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 234,500 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $28,710,000 after purchasing an additional 76,800 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. This trade represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.01. 384,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,846. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $123.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.80.

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.