AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,891 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.2 %

Kirby stock opened at $101.31 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $92.13 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $104.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. On average, analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

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.