Matson (MATX) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, MATX or KEX?

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

Does the media favor MATX or KEX?

In the previous week, Matson had 2 more articles in the media than Kirby. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Matson and 9 mentions for Kirby. Kirby's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Matson's score of 1.31 indicating that Kirby is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Matson	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kirby	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, 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	$3.42B	1.28	$297.10M	$14.04	9.48
Kirby	$3.27B	1.80	$286.71M	$4.91	21.08

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 insiders & institutionals 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. 2.1% of Matson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% 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.

Do analysts prefer MATX or KEX?

Matson currently has a consensus target price of $167.50, suggesting a potential upside of 25.88%. Kirby has a consensus target price of $129.25, suggesting a potential upside of 24.90%. 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
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 MarketBeat Community believe in MATX or KEX?

Kirby received 263 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.13% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.68% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Matson	Outperform Votes 274 62.13%	Underperform Votes 167 37.87%
Kirby	Outperform Votes 537 60.68%	Underperform Votes 348 39.32%

Summary

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