SUNB vs KEX vs HRI Stock Comparison

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Kirby and Herc Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$137.21 +6.4% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$7.24B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
6 wins
HRI Herc Holdings Inc
$156.00 +15.2% 1M +17.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.21B
P/E
86.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.92B
Div. yield
1.79%
Equipment Rental Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Kirby leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Kirby 6, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 4, Herc Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSUNBKEXHRILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $33.54B $7.24B $5.21B SUNB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 20.6x 86.7x KEX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 20.0x 22.5x KEX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.6% +19.4% HRI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.3% 10.2% — SUNB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.8% 8.3% — SUNB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.3x — KEX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.28% — 1.79% HRI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.1% +54.7% +17.0% KEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.5%/yr +20.4%/yr -2.8%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.9% 29.0% 60.6% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 64/100 51/100 SUNB

Percentile Scorecard

SUNBKEXHRI

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

AxisSUNBKEXHRI
Valuation 67 #16 of 46 41 #81 of 136 58 #20 of 46
Growth – 79 #26 of 121 84 #7 of 39
Profitability 90 #5 of 39 54 #53 of 115 53 #19 of 39
Financial Health 22 #37 of 47 66 #50 of 143 7 #44 of 47
Shareholder Returns 81 #7 of 32 80 #17 of 82 55 #15 of 32
Overall 65 64 51
  • SUNB ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • HRI 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

PeriodSUNBKEXHRISPY
1 month +9.0%+6.4%+15.2% -0.2%
3 months +8.5%-5.6%+5.0% +3.9%
6 months +7.7%-9.1%+16.5% +8.2%
Year to date +19.9%+24.5%+5.1% +12.9%
1 year +16.1%+54.7%+17.0% +12.3%
3 years +42.8%+83.7%+47.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +12.6%+22.5%+13.9% +23.3%
5 years -2.3%+153.0%-13.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year -0.5%+20.4%-2.8% +10.9%
10 years +428.3%+131.2%+426.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +18.1%+8.7%+18.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSUNBKEXHRISPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.9%29.0%60.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.5%27.1%53.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.350.551.94 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.361.890.28 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.4%-38.8%-62.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-10.1%-13.9% -1.2%
52-week high $86.06$152.59$181.12 $779.14
52-week low $60.42$88.64$91.04 $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.

MultipleSUNBKEXHRI
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 25.3x 20.6xmedian 16.3x 86.7xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.0x 2.1xmedian 1.0x 1.1xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 13.4x 10.8xmedian 8.7x —median 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 21.9x 15.2xmedian 11.4x -33.2xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 2.6x 2.1xmedian 1.2x 2.6xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 2.38 0.65median 0.82 —median 2.38

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 monthsSUNBKEXHRI
Revenue $11.52B $3.49B $4.92B
Gross profit $4.56B $1.16B –
Operating income $2.46B $488.92M –
Net income $1.54B $355.89M $123.00M
Free cash flow $1.54B $475.58M –
EPS (diluted) $3.74 $6.62 –
Cash & equivalents $32.00M $38.96M $66.00M
Total debt $8.56B $1.04B –
Shares (diluted) 411.31M 53.70M 33.50M
Enterprise value $33.42B $7.02B $5.21B

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
MetricSUNBKEXHRI
P/E 21.8x 20.6x 86.7x
P/FCF 21.8x 15.2x -33.2x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 10.2x 4.1x
P/S 2.9x 2.1x 1.1x
P/B 4.5x 2.1x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 2.1x 12.3x
EV/EBITDA 8.9x 10.8x –
EV/EBIT 17.1x 16.9x –
EV/Revenue 3.7x 2.4x 1.1x
EV/FCF 27.3x 17.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 11.5x 11.6x 4.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.65 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSUNBKEXHRI
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.6% 19.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 14.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 18.0% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 22.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 17.2% 278.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 26.8% -29.7%
EPS growth (1Y) – 23.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 31.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 21.4% 15.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 18.5% 5.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 82.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 43.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSUNBKEXHRI
Gross margin 39.6% 33.2% –
EBITDA margin 41.1% 21.8% –
Operating margin 21.4% 14.0% –
Pretax margin 18.0% 13.5% –
Net margin 13.3% 10.2% –
FCF margin 13.4% 13.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 31.7% 20.3% 25.8%
Return on equity 20.7% 10.4% 6.4%
Return on assets 6.7% 5.8% 0.9%
Return on invested capital 11.8% 8.3% –
Return on capital employed 12.2% 9.0% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 2.0x 10.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.5% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSUNBKEXHRI
Debt / assets 36.2% 16.7% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.3x –
Debt / FCF 5.5x 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 68.5% 44.6% 85.9%
Equity / assets 31.5% 55.4% 14.1%
Interest coverage – 11.0x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 2.53 3.27 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSUNBKEXHRI
Dividend yield 1.3% – 1.8%
Net buyback yield 3.0% 4.5% –
Shareholder yield 4.3% 4.5% 1.8%
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.

ConsensusSUNBKEXHRI
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 20.0xFY2026 22.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.05FY2026 $6.86FY2026 $6.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.9%FY2026 +8.4%FY2026 -8.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.4% +29.0% +61.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.64BFY2026 $3.49BFY2026 $4.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.3%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +8.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +4.7% +15.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSUNBKEXHRI
Held by institutions 78.3% 99.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 496 464 334
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.2% -0.1% +7.0%
Institutions buying 315 252 205
Institutions selling 136 145 86
Buyers to sellers 2.32 1.74 2.38

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.

SUNBKEXHRI
SUNB 1.00 0.12 0.51
KEX 0.12 1.00 0.23
HRI 0.51 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SUNB, KEX and HRI?

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) $33.54B, Kirby (KEX) $7.24B, Herc Holdings (HRI) $5.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, SUNB, KEX and HRI?

Kirby (KEX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 21.8x, Kirby (KEX) 20.6x, Herc Holdings (HRI) 86.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kirby (KEX) is cheapest (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 20.2x, Kirby (KEX) 20.0x, Herc Holdings (HRI) 22.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Herc Holdings (HRI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +6.6%, Herc Holdings (HRI) +19.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) has the highest net margin (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 13.3%, Kirby (KEX) 10.2%). On return on invested capital, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) leads (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 11.8%, Kirby (KEX) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kirby (KEX) returned the most: Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) +16.1%, Kirby (KEX) +54.7%, Herc Holdings (HRI) +17.0%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) -0.5%/yr, Kirby (KEX) +20.4%/yr, Herc Holdings (HRI) -2.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Herc Holdings (HRI) has the highest dividend yield: Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 1.28%, Herc Holdings (HRI) 1.79%. Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Sunbelt Rentals Holdings (SUNB) 44.9%, Kirby (KEX) 29.0%, Herc Holdings (HRI) 60.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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