Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 141 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 91.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Kirby by 56.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 375 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,123 shares of company stock worth $1,807,454 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $119.04 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $130.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.65 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

About Kirby

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.