Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Decreases Stock Position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 684,267 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 29,381 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $72,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,746,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,293,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,495 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,086,000 after purchasing an additional 19,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in Kirby by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 25,503 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 9,394 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This trade represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.75.

Kirby Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE KEX opened at $100.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $93.63 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current 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.