Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 12.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 116,146 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 16,900 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $14,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 420.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total transaction of $1,729,881.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. This represents a 52.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,596 shares of company stock worth $7,515,760 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $129.30 on Thursday. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $72.11 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.14.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.