Financial Survey: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) and DHT (NYSE:DHT)

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) and DHT (NYSE:DHT) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kirby and DHT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kirby	$3.36 billion	2.41	$354.57 million	$6.33	23.88
DHT	$498.40 million	5.89	$211.09 million	$1.31	13.94

Kirby has higher revenue and earnings than DHT. DHT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kirby, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Kirby and DHT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kirby	10.54%	10.53%	5.87%
DHT	42.35%	17.70%	13.16%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.2% of Kirby shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.5% of DHT shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Kirby shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Kirby has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DHT has a beta of -0.09, meaning that its stock price is 109% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Kirby and DHT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kirby	0	2	5	0	2.71
DHT	0	3	3	0	2.50

Kirby currently has a consensus target price of $140.20, indicating a potential downside of 7.24%. DHT has a consensus target price of $19.33, indicating a potential upside of 5.85%. Given DHT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe DHT is more favorable than Kirby.

Summary

Kirby beats DHT on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii. It also transports petrochemicals, black oils, refined petroleum products, and agricultural chemicals by tank barges; and operates offshore dry-bulk barges and tugboat units that are engaged in the offshore transportation of dry-bulk cargos in the United States coastal trade. It owns and operates 1,076 inland tank barges, approximately 281 inland towboats, 28 coastal tank barges, 25 coastal tugboats, 4 offshore dry-bulk cargo barges, 4 offshore tugboats, and a docking tugboat. Its Distribution and Services segment sells after-market service and genuine replacement parts for engines, transmissions, reduction gears, electric motors, drives, and controls, electrical distribution and control systems, energy storage battery systems, and related oilfield service equipment; rebuilds component parts or diesel engines, transmissions and reduction gears, and related equipment used in oilfield services, marine, power generation, on-highway, and other industrial applications; rents generators, industrial compressors, high capacity lift trucks, and refrigeration trailers; and manufactures and remanufactures oilfield service equipment, including pressure pumping units, as well as manufacturers electric power generation equipment, specialized electrical distribution and control equipment, and high capacity energy storage/battery systems. It serves to various companies, the United States government, and pleasure crafts. The company was formerly known as Kirby Exploration Company, Inc. and changed its name to Kirby Corporation in 1990. Kirby Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About DHT

DHT Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates crude oil tankers primarily in Monaco, Singapore, and Norway. The company also offers technical management services. As of March 15, 2024, it had a fleet of 24 very large crude carriers. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.