Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 42.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 632,308 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 189,303 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.13% of Kirby worth $71,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• This Freight Stock Just Got an Upgrade and Institutional Buyers

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $197,444,000 after acquiring an additional 389,005 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 69.3% in the first quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 776,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $78,384,000 after purchasing an additional 317,721 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,741,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,817,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 90.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 527,789 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $52,441,000 after purchasing an additional 250,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Kirby from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.40.

View Our Latest Report on KEX

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $107.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.05. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $131.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.81 and a 200 day moving average of $101.89.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 9.22%.The business had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total value of $299,437.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,744.25. The trade was a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 10,413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.42, for a total transaction of $1,118,564.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,259.20. This trade represents a 46.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 44,502 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,691 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Kirby 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.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KEX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report).

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