SFL vs KEX vs MATX Stock Comparison

Sfl, Kirby and Matson Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SFL SFL Corp Ltd.
$12.76 -0.2% 1M +81.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.69B
P/E
26.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
KEX Kirby Corp
$134.74 +4.5% 1M +55.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
4 wins
MATX Matson, Inc.
$228.65 +1.8% 1M +145.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.98B
P/E
15.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.46B
Div. yield
0.01%
Marine Shipping Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Matson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Matson 7, Kirby 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSFLKEXMATXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.69B $7.33B $6.98B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.0x 20.6x 15.1x MATX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.2x 19.6x 13.1x MATX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.6% -0.2% KEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 10.2% 13.4% MATX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.3% 14.3% MATX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.1x 1.3x 0.3x MATX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +81.3% +55.1% +145.3% MATX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.7%/yr +19.4%/yr +22.6%/yr MATX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.1% 29.0% 34.6% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 64/100 45/100 KEX

Percentile Scorecard

SFLKEXMATX

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

AxisSFLKEXMATX
Valuation 31 #94 of 136 42 #80 of 136 32 #93 of 136
Growth 56 #54 of 122 79 #26 of 122 25 #92 of 122
Profitability – 53 #55 of 116 59 #48 of 116
Financial Health 6 #135 of 144 64 #52 of 144 69 #45 of 144
Shareholder Returns 90 #9 of 82 80 #17 of 82 42 #48 of 82
Overall 46 64 45
  • SFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • MATX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSFLKEXMATXSPY
1 month -0.2%+4.5%+1.8% -0.8%
3 months +6.9%-7.1%+11.4% +3.5%
6 months +14.2%-11.6%+29.4% +7.0%
Year to date +63.4%+22.3%+85.1% +12.2%
1 year +81.3%+55.1%+145.3% +13.0%
3 years +18.0%+80.4%+156.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.7%+21.7%+36.9% +23.1%
5 years +58.7%+142.3%+176.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.7%+19.4%+22.6% +11.0%
10 years -4.3%+142.1%+477.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.4%+9.2%+19.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSFLKEXMATXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.1%29.0%34.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.2%27.1%26.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.550.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.611.904.19 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.6%-38.8%-54.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.1%-11.7%-3.6% -1.8%
52-week high $13.74$152.59$237.28 $779.14
52-week low $7.03$88.64$97.33 $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.

MultipleSFLKEXMATX
P/E now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 16.1x 20.2xmedian 16.1x 14.8xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median —median 1.0x 2.0xmedian 1.0x 2.0xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 8.7x 10.6xmedian 8.7x 9.7xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 11.5x 15.0xmedian 11.5x 61.8xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.2x 2.1xmedian 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.45median 0.81 0.64median 0.81 2.47median 0.81

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 monthsSFLKEXMATX
Revenue – $3.49B $3.46B
Gross profit – $1.16B –
Operating income – $488.92M $525.00M
Net income $64.88M $355.89M $463.80M
Free cash flow – $475.58M $110.70M
EPS (diluted) $0.49 $6.62 $15.31
Cash & equivalents $113.10M $38.96M $119.30M
Total debt $2.38B $1.04B $332.40M
Shares (diluted) 133.06M 53.70M 30.30M
Enterprise value -$144.44B $7.11B $6.53B

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
MetricSFLKEXMATX
P/E 26.2x 20.2x 14.8x
P/FCF – 15.0x 61.8x
P/Operating cash flow – 10.0x 11.7x
P/S – 2.0x 2.0x
P/B 1.8x 2.1x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 2.1x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 11.1x 10.6x 9.7x
EV/EBIT 29.1x 16.6x 13.4x
EV/Revenue – 2.3x 2.0x
EV/FCF – 17.1x 63.7x
EV/Operating cash flow – 11.4x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.45 0.64 2.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSFLKEXMATX
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.6% -0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 0.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 18.0% -10.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 22.6% -2.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 82.4% 17.2% -6.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -18.9% 26.8% 0.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 78.2% 23.2% 0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 31.6% 6.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 21.4% -5.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 18.5% -11.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 82.1% -57.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 43.3% -42.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSFLKEXMATX
Gross margin – 33.2% –
EBITDA margin – 21.8% 21.0%
Operating margin – 14.0% 15.2%
Pretax margin – 13.5% 15.9%
Net margin – 10.2% 13.4%
FCF margin – 13.6% 3.2%
Operating cash flow margin – 20.3% 16.9%
Return on equity – 10.4% 16.9%
Return on assets – 5.8% 10.0%
Return on invested capital – 8.3% 14.3%
Return on capital employed – 9.0% 13.0%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSFLKEXMATX
Debt / assets 67.8% 16.7% 7.1%
Debt / equity 2.3x 0.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.1x 1.3x 0.3x
Debt / FCF – 2.2x 3.0x
Liabilities / assets 70.6% 44.6% 41.2%
Equity / assets 29.4% 55.4% 58.8%
Interest coverage – 11.0x 79.5x
Current ratio 0.4x 1.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.4x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 3.24 3.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSFLKEXMATX
Dividend yield 6.6% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 4.6% 3.8%
Shareholder yield 6.6% 4.6% 4.5%
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.

ConsensusSFLKEXMATX
Forward P/E 23.2xFY2026 19.6xFY2026 13.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.55FY2026 $6.86FY2026 $17.50FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +450.0%FY2026 +8.4%FY2026 +26.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +76.4% +29.0% -8.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $691.35MFY2026 $3.49BFY2026 $3.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.7%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.5% +4.7% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSFLKEXMATX
Held by institutions 43.5% 99.6% 86.3%
Institutions holding 223 464 428
Change in shares held, QoQ +15.8% -0.1% +0.4%
Institutions buying 133 252 212
Institutions selling 55 145 134
Buyers to sellers 2.42 1.74 1.58

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.

SFLKEXMATX
SFL 1.00 0.18 0.27
KEX 0.18 1.00 0.34
MATX 0.27 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SFL, KEX and MATX?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sfl (SFL) $1.69B, Kirby (KEX) $7.33B, Matson (MATX) $6.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, SFL, KEX and MATX?

Matson (MATX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sfl (SFL) 26.0x, Kirby (KEX) 20.6x, Matson (MATX) 15.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Matson (MATX) is cheapest (Sfl (SFL) 23.2x, Kirby (KEX) 19.6x, Matson (MATX) 13.1x). 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) +6.6%, Matson (MATX) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Matson (MATX) has the highest net margin (Kirby (KEX) 10.2%, Matson (MATX) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Matson (MATX) leads (Kirby (KEX) 8.3%, Matson (MATX) 14.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Matson (MATX) returned the most: Sfl (SFL) +81.3%, Kirby (KEX) +55.1%, Matson (MATX) +145.3%. Over five years, Matson (MATX) compounded fastest (Sfl (SFL) +9.7%/yr, Kirby (KEX) +19.4%/yr, Matson (MATX) +22.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Sfl (SFL) 31.1%, Kirby (KEX) 29.0%, Matson (MATX) 34.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.