Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 12,781 Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.8 %

KEX opened at $106.32 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.24 and a twelve month high of $132.21. 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 moving average price of $110.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.36. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. Research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,285 shares of company stock worth $3,114,877 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

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.