Matson (MATX) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in 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 insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Kirby shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer MATX or KEX?

In the previous week, Kirby had 18 more articles in the media than Matson. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Kirby and 5 mentions for Matson. Matson's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Kirby's score of 0.23 indicating that Matson is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Matson	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kirby	4 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility and risk, MATX or KEX?

Matson has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kirby has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and 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	$3.09B	1.17	$297.10M	$8.38	12.48
Kirby	$3.09B	1.80	$222.93M	$3.72	25.52

Is MATX or KEX more profitable?

Matson has a net margin of 9.60% compared to Kirby's net margin of 7.21%. Matson's return on equity of 12.71% beat Kirby's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matson	9.60%	12.71%	6.98%
Kirby	7.21%	7.12%	3.96%

Do analysts recommend MATX or KEX?

Matson presently has a consensus target price of $111.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.76%. Kirby has a consensus target price of $106.67, suggesting a potential upside of 12.36%. Given Kirby's stronger consensus rating and higher probable 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)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MATX or KEX?

Kirby received 268 more outperform votes than Matson when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 61.70% of users gave Matson an outperform vote while only 60.60% of users gave Kirby an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Matson	Outperform Votes 261 61.70%	Underperform Votes 162 38.30%
Kirby	Outperform Votes 529 60.60%	Underperform Votes 344 39.40%

Summary

Matson and Kirby tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.