Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 14,220 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,390 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 14,220 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Kirby were worth $20,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $108.47 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $84.56 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.69 and a 200-day moving average of $116.85.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.