KEX vs NVGS vs ZIM Stock Comparison

Kirby, Navigator Holdings and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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KEX Kirby Corp
$119.40 -13.9% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$6.45B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
2 wins
NVGS Navigator Holdings Ltd.
$19.57 -17.0% 1M +15.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.33B
P/E
7.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$580.98M
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Navigator Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Navigator Holdings 7, Kirby 2, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXNVGSZIMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.45B $1.33B $3.37B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.2x 7.1x 24.1x NVGS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.1x 9.3x 4.9x ZIM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% +7.3% -24.9% NVGS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 32.4% 2.2% NVGS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.3% 17.5% — NVGS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.5x — NVGS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.26% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.4% +15.6% +81.5% ZIM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.2%/yr +18.4%/yr -11.3%/yr NVGS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.2% 32.2% 48.0% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 69/100 42/100 NVGS

Percentile Scorecard

KEXNVGSZIM

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

AxisKEXNVGSZIM
Valuation 49 #70 of 137 74 #36 of 137 96 #7 of 137
Growth 79 #27 of 127 72 #36 of 127 8 #117 of 127
Profitability 53 #59 of 125 87 #17 of 125 36 #81 of 125
Financial Health 61 #58 of 147 59 #61 of 147 25 #110 of 147
Shareholder Returns 84 #15 of 90 53 #43 of 90 45 #50 of 90
Overall 65 69 42
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • NVGS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ZIM ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXNVGSZIMSPY
1 month -13.9%-17.0%-6.1% -5.9%
3 months -10.1%-6.2%+4.2% -4.6%
6 months -16.0%-14.4%+5.1% +0.2%
Year to date +8.4%+13.0%+29.2% +7.5%
1 year +12.4%+15.6%+81.5% +8.2%
3 years +55.6%+36.6%+254.4% +68.3%
3 years, per year +15.9%+11.0%+52.5% +19.0%
5 years +102.8%+132.1%-45.2% +56.5%
5 years, per year +15.2%+18.4%-11.3% +9.4%
10 years +104.1%+183.6%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +7.4%+11.0%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureKEXNVGSZIMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.2%32.2%48.0% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.2%36.0%38.9% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.460.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.420.481.70 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-39.5%-92.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.8%-22.0%-11.2% -5.9%
52-week high $152.59$25.09$30.90 $779.14
52-week low $105.84$16.93$14.66 $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.

MultipleKEXNVGSZIM
P/E now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 14.1x 7.0xmedian 14.1x 23.7xmedian 14.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 0.9x 2.2xmedian 0.9x 0.5xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 7.8x 3.2xmedian 7.8x 1.3xmedian 7.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 11.7x 48.8xmedian 11.7x 1.7xmedian 11.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x 0.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.57median 0.68 0.17median 0.68 -0.45median 0.68

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 monthsKEXNVGSZIM
Revenue $3.49B $580.98M $6.44B
Gross profit $1.16B $397.65M $879.10M
Operating income $488.92M $335.04M $528.50M
Net income $355.89M $192.15M -$823.50M
Free cash flow $475.58M $26.16M $1.91B
EPS (diluted) $6.62 $2.77 $1.16
Cash & equivalents $38.96M $221.08M $1.04B
Total debt $1.04B $448.73M –
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 68.04M 120.52M
Enterprise value $6.23B $581.25M -$4.13B

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
MetricKEXNVGSZIM
P/E 17.9x 7.0x 23.7x
P/FCF 13.3x 48.8x 1.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.9x 6.5x 2.0x
P/S 1.8x 2.2x 0.5x
P/B 1.8x 1.0x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 1.0x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA 9.6x 3.2x 1.3x
EV/EBIT 14.9x 4.5x 4.3x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 2.6x 0.4x
EV/FCF 15.4x 57.5x 1.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.3x 7.7x 1.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.57 0.17 -0.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXNVGSZIM
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% 7.3% -24.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 6.4% -7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% 13.0% -68.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 8.1% -26.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.0% 28.3% -78.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 27.3% -35.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.2% 75.3% 64.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 35.1% 53.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% 82.5% -93.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.6% 40.6% -52.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% -1.9% -57.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 8.1% -20.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 82.1% -86.6% -54.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 43.3% -44.7% -17.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXNVGSZIM
Gross margin 33.2% 68.4% 13.7%
EBITDA margin 21.8% 79.9% 27.7%
Operating margin 14.0% 57.7% 8.2%
Pretax margin 13.5% 56.3% 3.0%
Net margin 10.2% 32.4% 2.2%
FCF margin 13.6% 4.5% 29.7%
Operating cash flow margin 20.3% 33.6% 25.8%
Return on equity 10.4% 26.2% 3.6%
Return on assets 5.8% 15.0% 1.3%
Return on invested capital 8.3% 17.5% –
Return on capital employed 9.0% 16.7% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.0x -2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXNVGSZIM
Debt / assets 16.7% 20.1% –
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 0.5x –
Debt / FCF 2.2x 17.2x –
Liabilities / assets 44.6% 40.4% 63.6%
Equity / assets 55.4% 59.6% 36.4%
Interest coverage 11.0x 13.5x 1.2x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.4x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.8x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.07 1.97 1.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXNVGSZIM
Dividend yield – 1.4% 4.3%
Net buyback yield 5.2% 2.9% –
Shareholder yield 5.2% 4.4% 4.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -106.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 46.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 713.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -29.7%

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.

ConsensusKEXNVGSZIM
Forward P/E 17.1xFY2026 9.3xFY2026 4.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.97FY2026 $2.11FY2026 $5.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.1%FY2026 +78.8%FY2026 +40.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.0% -26.1% -103.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.55BFY2026 $564.31MFY2026 $8.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.7%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.1% -13.7% -12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXNVGSZIM
Held by institutions 99.6% 37.4% 38.7%
Institutions holding 466 174 246
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +0.6% -6.7%
Institutions buying 252 107 122
Institutions selling 145 41 78
Buyers to sellers 1.74 2.61 1.56

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.

KEXNVGSZIM
KEX 1.00 0.27 0.17
NVGS 0.27 1.00 0.21
ZIM 0.17 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, NVGS and ZIM?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $6.45B, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) $1.33B, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) $3.37B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, NVGS and ZIM?

Navigator Holdings (NVGS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 18.2x, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 7.1x, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 24.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 17.1x, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 9.3x, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 4.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Navigator Holdings (NVGS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +6.6%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +7.3%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -24.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Navigator Holdings (NVGS) has the highest net margin (Kirby (KEX) 10.2%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 32.4%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 2.2%). On return on invested capital, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) leads (Kirby (KEX) 8.3%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 17.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +12.4%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +15.6%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) +81.5%. Over five years, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +15.2%/yr, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +18.4%/yr, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -11.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Kirby (KEX) 0.00%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 0.00%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 0.26%. Kirby (KEX) and Navigator Holdings (NVGS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.2%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 32.2%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 48.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEX, NVGS and ZIM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) leads on 7. 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.