Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement, Marketbeat reports. The stock traded as low as $44.63 and last traded at $48.39, with a volume of 1,657,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.85.

The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.03. The firm earned $484.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $518.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 27.6% on a year-over-year basis.

KEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Stephens reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 15th. FBR & Co. reissued a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, November 9th. TheStreet downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Macquarie raised Kirby from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.63.

In other Kirby news, Director William M. Lamont, Jr. sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $165,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,588.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Other large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fruth Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 15,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $710,000. Assetmark purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $0. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $1,346,000. Finally, Hermes Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Hermes Investment Management Ltd. now owns 600,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,597,000 after buying an additional 89,370 shares in the last quarter.

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.95 and a 200 day moving average of $63.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19.

Kirby Corporation is the domestic tank barge operator, transporting bulk liquid products. The Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in two segments: Marine Transportation and Diesel Engine Services. The Marine Transportation segment is a provider of marine transportation services, operating tank barges and towing vessels transporting bulk liquid products. The Diesel Engine Services segment, sells replacement parts, provides service mechanics to overhaul and repair medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines, transmissions, reduction gears, pumps and compression products, maintains facilities to rebuild component parts or entire medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines, transmissions and entire reduction gears, and manufactures and remanufactures oilfield service equipment, including pressure pumping units. Its customers include oil service companies, offshore fishing companies, nuclear power industry, compression companies and construction companies, among others.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:KEX

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