Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $30.17 Million Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 48.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,147 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 272,400 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.50% of Kirby worth $30,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $106.32 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby Co. has a 1 year low of $83.24 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,285 shares of company stock valued at $3,114,877 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

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.