American Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,175 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares during the quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Kirby by 8.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Kirby Stock Up 1.2 %

KEX stock opened at $100.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.02 and a 200-day moving average of $114.53. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.34 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby 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.