First Hawaiian Bank Raises Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,524 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,459 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,337 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after buying an additional 224,802 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $97,255,000 after buying an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,585,000 after buying an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KEX opened at $105.12 on Thursday. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $74.88 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $117.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is 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.