Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Raises Stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 122.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 633,812 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 348,665 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 1.11% of Kirby worth $64,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Kirby by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Kirby by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,035 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,047 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Kirby by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 25,508 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Kirby Stock Down 0.4%

Kirby stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.72. 278,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.97. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $104.77 and a 200 day moving average of $105.26.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The company had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Kirby's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company 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.