Merewether Investment Management LP Purchases 76,800 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 48.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,800 shares during the quarter. Kirby accounts for about 1.3% of Merewether Investment Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Merewether Investment Management LP’s holdings in Kirby were worth $28,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Kirby by 8.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 3.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Kirby by 91.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. This represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $123.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby 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.