Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Has $106.25 Million Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 224,802 shares during the period. Kirby comprises about 5.6% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.52% of Kirby worth $106,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Kirby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,521,000 after acquiring an additional 63,611 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 4.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $133,624,000 after acquiring an additional 54,755 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after acquiring an additional 90,586 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,432,000 after acquiring an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $123.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $118.42 and a 200-day moving average of $112.93. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $130.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.