Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,335 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,622 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Kirby were worth $8,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 420.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the second quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,980. This represents a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,207 shares of company stock worth $3,636,474 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $110.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $74.88 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.27 and a 200 day moving average of $120.81.

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

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.