VELA Investment Management LLC Has $10.98 Million Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,201 shares during the quarter. Kirby accounts for 4.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. VELA Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Kirby worth $10,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Kirby by 923.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,248,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $273,406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,833,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,762,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Kirby by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,886,000 after purchasing an additional 495,541 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 576,527 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $41,620,000 after purchasing an additional 225,645 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 610,118 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,120,000 after purchasing an additional 208,028 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Monday, reaching $97.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 360,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,729. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.42 and a fifty-two week high of $101.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The firm had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several 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 Monday, April 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $593,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.