Kirby (KEX) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, KEX or MATX?

Kirby has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Matson has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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%

Which has better earnings and valuation, 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	$3.24B	1.95	$286.71M	$5.05	22.28
Matson	$3.48B	1.07	$297.10M	$15.18	7.54

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer KEX or MATX?

Kirby received 260 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.28% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.77% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Kirby	Outperform Votes 539 60.77%	Underperform Votes 348 39.23%
Matson	Outperform Votes 279 62.28%	Underperform Votes 169 37.72%

Do analysts recommend KEX or MATX?

Kirby currently has a consensus target price of $130.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.54%. Matson has a consensus target price of $138.33, suggesting a potential upside of 20.90%. Given Matson's higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Matson	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

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

96.2% of Kirby shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of Matson shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Kirby shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Matson 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.

Does the media prefer KEX or MATX?

In the previous week, Kirby had 5 more articles in the media than Matson. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Kirby and 7 mentions for Matson. Matson's average media sentiment score of 0.93 beat Kirby's score of 0.29 indicating that Matson is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Kirby	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Matson	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Matson beats Kirby on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.