Kirby (KEX) Competitors

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

Which has better valuation and earnings, MATX or KEX?

Matson has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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	$3.09B	1.53	$297.10M	$12.02	11.90
Kirby	$3.27B	1.80	$286.71M	$4.91	20.91

Do analysts rate MATX or KEX?

Matson currently has a consensus target price of $138.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.49%. Kirby has a consensus target price of $129.25, indicating a potential upside of 25.87%. Given Kirby's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media prefer MATX or KEX?

In the previous week, Kirby had 12 more articles in the media than Matson. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Kirby and 4 mentions for Matson. Matson's average media sentiment score of 1.25 beat Kirby's score of 0.55 indicating that Matson is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Matson	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kirby	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MATX or KEX?

Kirby received 264 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.19% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.68% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Matson	Outperform Votes 273 62.19%	Underperform Votes 166 37.81%
Kirby	Outperform Votes 537 60.68%	Underperform Votes 348 39.32%

Which has more risk & volatility, MATX or KEX?

Matson has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kirby has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MATX or KEX more profitable?

Matson has a net margin of 12.37% compared to Kirby's net margin of 8.78%. 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	8.78%	9.71%	5.46%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of MATX or KEX?

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

Summary

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