Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $85.43 Million Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 21.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,880 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 1.53% of Kirby worth $85,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Kirby by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 630,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,471,000 after purchasing an additional 68,420 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in Kirby by 166.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kirby by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $498,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,975,000 after purchasing an additional 14,201 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares in the company, valued at $8,853,455.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,853,455.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,806 shares of company stock worth $3,945,225. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $121.10. The company had a trading volume of 16,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,997. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $72.11 and a 1 year high of $124.92.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KEX. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.20.

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.