Kirby (KEX) Competitors

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, KEX or MATX?

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
Kirby	$3.27B	1.76	$286.71M	$4.91	20.52
Matson	$3.42B	1.22	$297.10M	$14.04	9.05

Does the media favor KEX or MATX?

In the previous week, Kirby had 4 more articles in the media than Matson. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Kirby and 9 mentions for Matson. Matson's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Kirby's score of 1.01 indicating that Matson is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Kirby	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Matson	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor KEX or MATX?

Kirby received 264 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.13% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.72% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Kirby	Outperform Votes 538 60.72%	Underperform Votes 348 39.28%
Matson	Outperform Votes 274 62.13%	Underperform Votes 167 37.87%

Is KEX or MATX 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
Kirby	8.78%	9.71%	5.46%
Matson	12.37%	16.89%	9.54%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in KEX or MATX?

96.2% of Kirby shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of Matson shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Kirby shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Matson shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend KEX or MATX?

Kirby currently has a consensus price target of $124.75, suggesting a potential upside of 23.79%. Matson has a consensus price target of $167.50, suggesting a potential upside of 31.85%. Given Matson's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Matson is more favorable than Kirby.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kirby	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Matson	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more volatility and risk, KEX or MATX?

Kirby has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Matson has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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