Primecap Management Co. CA Acquires 2,150 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 270,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Kirby were worth $28,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC raised its position in Kirby by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kirby Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $100.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $89.28 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.28. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

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 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. Research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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