Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Buys Shares of 105,118 Kirby Corporation $KEX

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 105,118 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,772,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 131,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,932,000 after acquiring an additional 20,399 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,030,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 239.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 11,118 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,665 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 16,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luminus Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 292.0% during the 3rd quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 116,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,760,000 after purchasing an additional 87,120 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $137.24 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. Kirby Corporation has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $137.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $4,441,467.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,776,242.05. The trade was a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total transaction of $1,493,721.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,493,721.58. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $9,226,173. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KEX. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.60.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.