Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,378 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.44% of Kirby worth $205,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Kirby by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,157 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Kirby by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,957 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in Kirby by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,565 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 5,553 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its holdings in Kirby by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 23,349 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $116.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.62, for a total value of $256,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,854,529.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Kirby news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 1,670 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $146,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $494,296. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.62, for a total value of $256,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,529.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,649 shares of company stock worth $2,716,446. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $116.06. The stock had a trading volume of 443,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,198. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.81. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $70.17 and a 12 month high of $116.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $99.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.47.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

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.