JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 262,044 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,185 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.47% of Kirby worth $21,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 131,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,932,000 after buying an additional 20,399 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the third quarter valued at $2,030,000. Luminus Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 292.0% during the third quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 116,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after acquiring an additional 87,120 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 11.5% during the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 160,475 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 16,615 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 12.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9,802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Zacks Research lowered Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.40.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $129.78 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $132.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 5,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $662,338.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,399 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,678. This trade represents a 34.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total value of $1,508,893.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,894.62. The trade was a 44.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,353 shares of company stock valued at $8,579,025. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.