KEX vs MATX vs SUNB Stock Comparison

Kirby, Matson and Sunbelt Rentals Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$146.19 +11.1% 1M +64.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.72B
P/E
20.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
3 wins
MATX Matson, Inc.
$228.90 +2.4% 1M +134.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.84B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.46B
Div. yield
0.64%
Marine Shipping Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Matson leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Matson 6, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 3, Kirby 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXMATXSUNBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.72B $6.84B $33.98B SUNB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.9x 14.9x 22.1x MATX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 13.1x 20.5x MATX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% -0.2% — KEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 13.4% 13.3% MATX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.3% 11.8% MATX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.3x 1.8x MATX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.64% 1.27% SUNB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +64.9% +134.3% +20.2% MATX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr +22.4%/yr -0.3%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.7% 34.6% 44.8% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 46/100 64/100 SUNB

Percentile Scorecard

KEXMATXSUNB

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisKEXMATXSUNB
Valuation 42 #79 of 136 33 #91 of 136 62 #18 of 46
Growth 79 #27 of 122 23 #94 of 122 –
Profitability – 61 #46 of 116 90 #5 of 39
Financial Health – 69 #45 of 143 22 #37 of 47
Shareholder Returns – 41 #48 of 81 84 #6 of 32
Overall – 46 64
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • MATX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SUNB ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodKEXMATXSUNBSPY
1 month +11.1%+2.4%+10.7% +0.9%
3 months +11.4%+13.4%+12.9% +5.9%
6 months -4.2%+32.0%+13.1% +8.5%
Year to date +32.7%+85.3%+21.5% +13.3%
1 year +64.9%+134.3%+20.2% +12.4%
3 years +95.7%+156.8%+44.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +25.1%+37.0%+13.1% +23.5%
5 years +178.9%+174.9%-1.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +22.8%+22.4%-0.3% +11.0%
10 years +147.7%+481.7%+435.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.5%+19.3%+18.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKEXMATXSUNBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.7%34.6%44.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%26.3%43.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.560.991.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.193.880.45 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-54.4%-54.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%-3.5%-3.7% -0.9%
52-week high $152.59$237.28$86.06 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$97.33$60.42 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleKEXMATXSUNB
P/E now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 16.1x 14.9xmedian 16.1x 22.1xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.9x 2.0xmedian 0.9x 3.0xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.6x 9.7xmedian 8.6x 9.0xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 11.6x 61.8xmedian 11.6x 22.0xmedian 22.0x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x 4.6xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 0.80 2.48median 0.80 —median 2.36

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsKEXMATXSUNB
Revenue $3.60B $3.46B $11.52B
Gross profit – – $4.56B
Operating income $510.61M $525.00M $2.46B
Net income – $463.80M $1.54B
Free cash flow – $110.70M $1.54B
EPS (diluted) $6.96 $15.31 $3.74
Cash & equivalents – $119.30M $32.00M
Total debt – $332.40M $8.56B
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 30.30M 411.31M
Enterprise value $7.72B $6.39B $33.86B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricKEXMATXSUNB
P/E 20.9x 14.9x 22.1x
P/FCF 14.6x 61.8x 22.0x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x 11.7x 9.3x
P/S 2.1x 2.0x 3.0x
P/B – 2.5x 4.6x
P/Tangible book – 2.6x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA – 9.7x 9.0x
EV/EBIT – 13.4x 17.3x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 2.0x 3.7x
EV/FCF – 63.8x 27.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.3x 12.1x 11.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 2.48 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXMATXSUNB
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% -0.2% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 0.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.5% -10.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% -2.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) – -6.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 0.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 27.4% 0.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 6.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.3% -5.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.0% -11.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -57.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -42.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXMATXSUNB
Gross margin – – 39.6%
EBITDA margin – 21.0% 41.1%
Operating margin – 15.2% 21.4%
Pretax margin – 15.9% 18.0%
Net margin – 13.4% 13.3%
FCF margin – 3.2% 13.4%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 16.9% 31.7%
Return on equity – 16.9% 20.7%
Return on assets – 10.0% 6.7%
Return on invested capital – 14.3% 11.8%
Return on capital employed – 13.0% 12.2%
Asset turnover – 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.3x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXMATXSUNB
Debt / assets – 7.1% 36.2%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.3x 1.8x
Debt / FCF – 3.0x 5.5x
Liabilities / assets – 41.2% 68.5%
Equity / assets – 58.8% 31.5%
Interest coverage – 79.5x –
Current ratio – 0.9x 0.9x
Quick ratio – 0.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.93 2.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXMATXSUNB
Dividend yield – 0.6% 1.3%
Net buyback yield – 3.8% 3.0%
Shareholder yield – 4.5% 4.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 9.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 40.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -0.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -0.6% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusKEXMATXSUNB
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 13.1xFY2026 20.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $17.50FY2026 $4.05FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 +26.7%FY2026 +8.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% -8.5% +25.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $3.45BFY2026 $12.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +6.1% +9.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXMATXSUNB
Held by institutions 99.6% 86.3% 78.3%
Institutions holding 464 428 496
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +0.4% +9.2%
Institutions buying 252 212 315
Institutions selling 145 134 136
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.58 2.32

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

KEXMATXSUNB
KEX 1.00 0.35 0.15
MATX 0.35 1.00 0.17
SUNB 0.15 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, MATX and SUNB?

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.72B, Matson (MATX) $6.84B, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) $33.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, MATX and SUNB?

Matson (MATX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.9x, Matson (MATX) 14.9x, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 22.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Matson (MATX) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 21.3x, Matson (MATX) 13.1x, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 20.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kirby (KEX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +8.5%, Matson (MATX) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Matson (MATX) has the highest net margin (Matson (MATX) 13.4%, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Matson (MATX) leads (Matson (MATX) 14.3%, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 11.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Matson (MATX) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +64.9%, Matson (MATX) +134.3%, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) +20.2%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr, Matson (MATX) +22.4%/yr, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) -0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) has the highest dividend yield: Matson (MATX) 0.64%, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 1.27%. Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.7%, Matson (MATX) 34.6%, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 44.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEX, MATX and SUNB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Matson (MATX) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.