Aigen Investment Management LP Takes $432,000 Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,086 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after buying an additional 12,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 27.8% in the third 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $55,620,000 after purchasing an additional 48,475 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Kirby by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Kirby stock opened at $97.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $86.02 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.