KEX vs SFL vs STNG Stock Comparison

Kirby, Sfl and Scorpio Tankers Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$137.21 +6.4% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$7.38B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
2 wins
SFL SFL Corp Ltd.
$12.70 -0.6% 1M +80.7% 1Y
Market cap
$1.72B
P/E
26.6x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
1 win
STNG Scorpio Tankers Inc.
$85.46 +4.9% 1M +42.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.13B
P/E
5.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Scorpio Tankers leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Scorpio Tankers 7, Kirby 2, Sfl 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXSFLSTNGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.38B $1.72B $4.13B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.8x 26.6x 5.1x STNG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.0x 23.1x 7.0x STNG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% — +32.7% STNG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% — 67.2% STNG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 6.1x -1.1x STNG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.7% +80.7% +42.0% SFL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.4%/yr +9.6%/yr +39.6%/yr STNG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.0% 31.1% 36.3% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 45/100 75/100 STNG

Percentile Scorecard

KEXSFLSTNG

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

AxisKEXSFLSTNG
Valuation 41 #81 of 136 31 #94 of 136 82 #26 of 136
Growth 79 #26 of 121 56 #54 of 121 68 #39 of 121
Profitability 54 #53 of 115 – 93 #9 of 115
Financial Health 66 #50 of 143 6 #134 of 143 93 #11 of 143
Shareholder Returns 80 #17 of 82 88 #11 of 82 37 #52 of 82
Overall 64 45 75
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • STNG ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXSFLSTNGSPY
1 month +6.4%-0.6%+4.9% -0.2%
3 months -5.6%+4.8%+8.0% +3.9%
6 months -9.1%+11.5%+5.4% +8.2%
Year to date +24.5%+62.6%+68.1% +12.9%
1 year +54.7%+80.7%+42.0% +12.3%
3 years +83.7%+17.5%+48.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.5%+5.5%+14.0% +23.3%
5 years +153.0%+58.4%+429.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +20.4%+9.6%+39.6% +10.9%
10 years +131.2%-4.3%+104.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.7%-0.4%+7.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKEXSFLSTNGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.0%31.1%36.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%29.1%34.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.550.380.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.892.601.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-52.6%-61.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.1%-7.6%-3.7% -1.2%
52-week high $152.59$13.74$88.77 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$7.03$49.51 $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.

MultipleKEXSFLSTNG
P/E now vs peer median 20.6xmedian 16.3x 26.0xmedian 16.3x 4.9xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.0x —median 1.0x 3.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 8.7x 11.1xmedian 8.7x 3.3xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 11.4x —median 11.4x 5.7xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x 1.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.65median 0.82 -1.44median 0.82 0.66median 0.82

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 monthsKEXSFLSTNG
Revenue $3.49B – $1.22B
Gross profit $1.16B – $933.45M
Operating income $488.92M – $833.54M
Net income $355.89M $64.88M $816.37M
Free cash flow $475.58M – $782.87M
EPS (diluted) $6.62 $0.49 $16.68
Cash & equivalents $38.96M $113.10M $1.84B
Total debt $1.04B $2.38B $3.04B
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 133.06M 48.95M
Enterprise value $7.15B -$144.41B -$51.98M

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
MetricKEXSFLSTNG
P/E 20.6x 26.0x 4.9x
P/FCF 15.2x – 5.7x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x – 5.7x
P/S 2.1x – 3.6x
P/B 2.1x 1.8x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 1.8x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 11.1x 3.3x
EV/EBIT 16.9x 29.0x 4.0x
EV/Revenue 2.4x – 2.7x
EV/FCF 17.3x – 4.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.6x – 4.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.65 -1.44 0.66

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXSFLSTNG
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% – 32.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% – -10.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% – 51.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% – -12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.0% – 105.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.6% – -6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.2% 82.4% 127.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.8% -18.9% -1.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% 78.2% 136.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.6% -18.0% 7.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% – 49.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% – -11.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 82.1% – 49.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 43.3% – -11.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXSFLSTNG
Gross margin 33.2% – 76.8%
EBITDA margin 21.8% – 82.9%
Operating margin 14.0% – 68.6%
Pretax margin 13.5% – 67.0%
Net margin 10.2% – 67.2%
FCF margin 13.6% – 64.4%
Operating cash flow margin 20.3% – 64.4%
Return on equity 10.4% – 23.2%
Return on assets 5.8% – 18.7%
Return on invested capital 8.3% – –
Return on capital employed 9.0% – 20.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x – 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% – 6.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXSFLSTNG
Debt / assets 16.7% 67.8% 15.7%
Debt / equity 0.3x 2.3x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 6.1x -1.1x
Debt / FCF 2.2x – 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 44.6% 70.6% 21.5%
Equity / assets 55.4% 29.4% 78.5%
Interest coverage 11.0x – 9.5x
Current ratio 1.7x 0.4x 6.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.4x 6.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.2x 5.6x
Altman Z-score 3.27 – 4.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXSFLSTNG
Dividend yield – 6.6% 2.1%
Net buyback yield 4.5% – –
Shareholder yield 4.5% 6.6% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusKEXSFLSTNG
Forward P/E 20.0xFY2026 23.1xFY2026 7.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $0.55FY2026 $12.28FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 +450.0%FY2026 +122.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +76.4% -31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $691.35MFY2026 $1.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +43.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +19.5% -21.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXSFLSTNG
Held by institutions 99.6% 43.5% 79.3%
Institutions holding 464 223 303
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +15.8% +6.1%
Institutions buying 252 133 185
Institutions selling 145 55 80
Buyers to sellers 1.74 2.42 2.31

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.

KEXSFLSTNG
KEX 1.00 0.17 0.18
SFL 0.17 1.00 0.52
STNG 0.18 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, SFL and STNG?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.38B, Sfl (SFL) $1.72B, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) $4.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, SFL and STNG?

Scorpio Tankers (STNG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.8x, Sfl (SFL) 26.6x, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) 5.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 20.0x, Sfl (SFL) 23.1x, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) 7.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Scorpio Tankers (STNG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +6.6%, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) +32.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Scorpio Tankers (STNG) has the highest net margin (Kirby (KEX) 10.2%, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) 67.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sfl (SFL) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +54.7%, Sfl (SFL) +80.7%, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) +42.0%. Over five years, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +20.4%/yr, Sfl (SFL) +9.6%/yr, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) +39.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.0%, Sfl (SFL) 31.1%, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) 36.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEX, SFL and STNG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Scorpio Tankers (STNG) 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.