Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $17.16 Million Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Kirby Corporation by 285.7% in Q1, making it the firm's 10th largest holding at approximately $17.16 million.
• Kirby reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.67, beating estimates by $0.08 and achieving a 3.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Kirby, with an average price target of $121.00, after adjustments to prior evaluations.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 285.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,884 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 125,836 shares during the period. Kirby comprises about 1.7% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.30% of Kirby worth $17,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 24.8% in 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. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Kirby by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,300,103 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $131,323,000 after purchasing an additional 107,240 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Kirby by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 925,357 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $93,470,000 after acquiring an additional 224,999 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 69.3% in the 1st 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 703,013 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $71,010,000 after buying an additional 34,762 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Kirby Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:KEX traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.05. 225,545 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 661,858. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.83 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.02 and a 200 day moving average of $103.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.94 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

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.