MATX vs NVGS vs KEX Stock Comparison

Matson, Navigator Holdings and Kirby Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MATX Matson, Inc.
$228.90 +2.4% 1M +134.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.81B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.46B
Div. yield
0.01%
Marine Shipping Industrials
2 wins
NVGS Navigator Holdings Ltd.
$21.47 -6.3% 1M +32.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.45B
P/E
10.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$579.12M
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
6 wins
KEX Kirby Corp
$146.19 +11.1% 1M +64.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.71B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Navigator Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Navigator Holdings 6, Kirby 3, Matson 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMATXNVGSKEXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.81B $1.45B $7.71B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.7x 10.1x 20.6x NVGS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.1x 9.3x 21.3x NVGS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.2% +9.6% +8.5% NVGS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.4% 24.9% — NVGS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% 14.9% — NVGS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.3x — MATX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +134.3% +32.6% +64.9% MATX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.4%/yr +21.0%/yr +22.8%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.6% 31.4% 29.7% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 75/100 — NVGS

Percentile Scorecard

MATXNVGSKEX

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

AxisMATXNVGSKEX
Valuation 33 #91 of 136 74 #36 of 136 42 #79 of 136
Growth 23 #94 of 122 84 #20 of 122 79 #27 of 122
Profitability 61 #46 of 116 85 #18 of 116 –
Financial Health 69 #45 of 143 58 #61 of 143 –
Shareholder Returns 41 #48 of 81 76 #20 of 81 –
Overall 46 75 –
  • MATX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • NVGS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMATXNVGSKEXSPY
1 month +2.4%-6.3%+11.1% +0.9%
3 months +13.4%-2.1%+11.4% +5.9%
6 months +32.0%-0.4%-4.2% +8.5%
Year to date +85.3%+24.0%+32.7% +13.3%
1 year +134.3%+32.6%+64.9% +12.4%
3 years +156.8%+51.8%+95.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +37.0%+14.9%+25.1% +23.5%
5 years +174.9%+158.7%+178.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +22.4%+21.0%+22.8% +11.0%
10 years +481.7%+180.7%+147.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.3%+10.9%+9.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureMATXNVGSKEXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.6%31.4%29.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.3%34.1%27.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.990.390.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.881.042.19 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.4%-39.5%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-14.4%-4.2% -0.9%
52-week high $237.28$25.09$152.59 $779.14
52-week low $97.33$16.14$88.64 $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.

MultipleMATXNVGSKEX
P/E now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 16.1x 10.0xmedian 16.1x 20.9xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 0.9x 2.4xmedian 0.9x 2.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 8.6x 4.5xmedian 8.6x —median 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 61.8xmedian 11.6x 11.4xmedian 11.6x 14.6xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.2x 1.1xmedian 1.2x —median 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.48median 0.80 0.24median 0.80 0.75median 0.80

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 monthsMATXNVGSKEX
Revenue $3.46B $579.12M $3.60B
Gross profit – $389.30M –
Operating income $525.00M $300.01M $510.61M
Net income $463.80M $148.27M –
Free cash flow $110.70M $122.80M –
EPS (diluted) $15.31 $2.12 $6.96
Cash & equivalents $119.30M $225.89M –
Total debt $332.40M $781.93M –
Shares (diluted) 30.30M 68.04M 53.70M
Enterprise value $6.36B $758.54M $7.71B

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
MetricMATXNVGSKEX
P/E 14.9x 10.0x 20.9x
P/FCF 61.8x 11.4x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 11.7x 7.2x 12.3x
P/S 2.0x 2.4x 2.1x
P/B 2.5x 1.1x –
P/Tangible book 2.6x 1.1x –
EV/EBITDA 9.7x 4.5x –
EV/EBIT 13.4x 6.5x –
EV/Revenue 2.0x 3.4x 2.1x
EV/FCF 63.8x 15.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow 12.1x 10.1x 12.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.48 0.24 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMATXNVGSKEX
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.2% 9.6% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 8.7% 6.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 12.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -10.2% 24.4% 22.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.3% 32.0% 19.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.1% 58.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.4% 35.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) 0.4% 64.7% 27.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 41.1% 28.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -5.5% -2.1% 3.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.0% 11.0% 11.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -57.0% 136.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -42.1% 64.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMATXNVGSKEX
Gross margin – 67.2% –
EBITDA margin 21.0% 74.6% –
Operating margin 15.2% 51.8% –
Pretax margin 15.9% 46.2% –
Net margin 13.4% 24.9% –
FCF margin 3.2% 21.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 16.9% 33.4% 17.4%
Return on equity 16.9% 22.8% –
Return on assets 10.0% 12.4% –
Return on invested capital 14.3% 14.9% –
Return on capital employed 13.0% 14.5% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMATXNVGSKEX
Debt / assets 7.1% 33.7% –
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.3x –
Debt / FCF 3.0x 6.4x –
Liabilities / assets 41.2% 45.2% –
Equity / assets 58.8% 54.8% –
Interest coverage 79.5x 11.2x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x –
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.2x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.0x –
Altman Z-score 3.93 1.82 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMATXNVGSKEX
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.3% –
Net buyback yield 3.8% 6.9% –
Shareholder yield 4.5% 8.2% –
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.

ConsensusMATXNVGSKEX
Forward P/E 13.1xFY2026 9.3xFY2026 21.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.50FY2026 $2.30FY2026 $6.86FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +26.7%FY2026 +94.9%FY2026 +8.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -8.5% -27.8% +29.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.45BFY2026 $566.07MFY2026 $3.49BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.1% -13.6% +4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMATXNVGSKEX
Held by institutions 86.3% 37.4% 99.6%
Institutions holding 428 174 464
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +0.6% -0.1%
Institutions buying 212 107 252
Institutions selling 134 41 145
Buyers to sellers 1.58 2.61 1.74

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.

MATXNVGSKEX
MATX 1.00 0.31 0.36
NVGS 0.31 1.00 0.25
KEX 0.36 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MATX, NVGS and KEX?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Matson (MATX) $6.81B, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) $1.45B, Kirby (KEX) $7.71B.

Which stock is cheaper, MATX, NVGS and KEX?

Navigator Holdings (NVGS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Matson (MATX) 14.7x, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 10.1x, Kirby (KEX) 20.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) is cheapest (Matson (MATX) 13.1x, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 9.3x, Kirby (KEX) 21.3x). 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: Matson (MATX) -0.2%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +9.6%, Kirby (KEX) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Navigator Holdings (NVGS) has the highest net margin (Matson (MATX) 13.4%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 24.9%). On return on invested capital, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) leads (Matson (MATX) 14.3%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 14.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Matson (MATX) returned the most: Matson (MATX) +134.3%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +32.6%, Kirby (KEX) +64.9%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Matson (MATX) +22.4%/yr, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) +21.0%/yr, Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Matson (MATX) 0.01%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 0.00%, Kirby (KEX) 0.00%. Navigator Holdings (NVGS) and Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Matson (MATX) 34.6%, Navigator Holdings (NVGS) 31.4%, Kirby (KEX) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.