Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Shares Down 4.2% – Time to Sell?

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) shares traded down 4.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $101.40 and last traded at $102.50. 144,488 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 500,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the second quarter valued at $65,928,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $106,246,000 after purchasing an additional 224,802 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 477,233 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $58,428,000 after purchasing an additional 194,410 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth about $22,106,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after buying an additional 152,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.