Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Increases Stock Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 690,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 28,524 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 1.24% of Kirby worth $57,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Kirby by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,256,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,784,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $138,966,000 after acquiring an additional 299,981 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 438.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,499 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $22,657,000 after purchasing an additional 221,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total value of $1,508,893.11. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,894.62. The trade was a 44.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $4,441,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at $12,776,242.05. This trade represents a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.60.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $126.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.51. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.