Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Increases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 16,497 shares during the quarter. Kirby makes up approximately 1.4% of Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Kirby were worth $5,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Kirby by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $91,086,000 after buying an additional 90,586 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 33.9% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after acquiring an additional 224,802 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kirby by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $97,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,685 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kirby by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,585,000 after purchasing an additional 152,146 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth $65,928,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,541,440. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $130.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.57. 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 one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.80.

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.