Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Down 16.3% in December

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 599,900 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the November 30th total of 716,800 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 486,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Kirby Stock Down 0.6 %

Kirby stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $105.35. 149,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 467,875. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby has a 1 year low of $74.88 and a 1 year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,418,000 after purchasing an additional 30,713 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter worth $5,136,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Kirby by 112.4% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 20.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.