JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 27.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.25% of Kirby worth $17,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 2.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 3.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in Kirby by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $105.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $117.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.24. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $74.88 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.