CenterBook Partners LP Grows Stock Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 1,117.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 30,391 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP owned about 0.06% of Kirby worth $3,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KEX. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 2,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Kirby by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 739 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.20.

Kirby Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $141.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.87. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $157.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.