Calamos Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Kirby by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Kirby by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 234,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,710,000 after purchasing an additional 76,800 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on KEX shares. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. This represents a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,716.48. This represents a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $108.68 on Thursday. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.24 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

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.