Kirby (KEX) Competitors

Matson (NYSE:MATX) and Kirby (NYSE:KEX) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, community ranking, dividends, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts rate MATX or KEX?

Matson presently has a consensus target price of $135.50, indicating a potential downside of 5.67%. Kirby has a consensus target price of $123.80, indicating a potential upside of 11.75%. Given Kirby's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kirby is more favorable than Matson.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matson	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Kirby	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is MATX or KEX more profitable?

Matson has a net margin of 12.37% compared to Kirby's net margin of 9.37%. Matson's return on equity of 16.89% beat Kirby's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matson	12.37%	16.89%	9.54%
Kirby	9.37%	9.43%	5.26%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in MATX or KEX?

84.8% of Matson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.2% of Kirby shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Matson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Kirby shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MATX or KEX?

Kirby received 264 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.10% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.77% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Matson	Outperform Votes 272 62.10%	Underperform Votes 166 37.90%
Kirby	Outperform Votes 536 60.77%	Underperform Votes 346 39.23%

Which has better earnings and valuation, MATX or KEX?

Matson has higher revenue and earnings than Kirby. Matson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kirby, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matson	$3.32B	1.44	$297.10M	$12.02	11.95
Kirby	$3.26B	1.95	$222.93M	$5.21	21.26

Does the media prefer MATX or KEX?

In the previous week, Matson had 5 more articles in the media than Kirby. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Matson and 4 mentions for Kirby. Matson's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Kirby's score of 1.02 indicating that Matson is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Matson	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kirby	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, MATX or KEX?

Matson has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kirby has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Matson beats Kirby on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.