Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 247,609 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 116,761 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $20,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth $78,256,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the second quarter valued at $73,784,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 32.4% in the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $138,966,000 after buying an additional 299,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 438.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,499 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $22,657,000 after buying an additional 221,100 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KEX. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research cut their target price on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total transaction of $4,441,467.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at $12,776,242.05. This represents a 25.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $477,892.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,565 shares in the company, valued at $430,224.20. The trade was a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 82,640 shares of company stock worth $10,470,847 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 1.3%

KEX opened at $125.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $134.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $124.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

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.