Head-To-Head Comparison: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) vs. Pyxis Tankers (NASDAQ:PXS)

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) and Pyxis Tankers (NASDAQ:PXS) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.2% of Kirby shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.2% of Pyxis Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Kirby shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 54.6% of Pyxis Tankers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kirby and Pyxis Tankers”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kirby	$3.36 billion	1.89	$286.71 million	$5.39	21.78
Pyxis Tankers	$51.54 million	0.68	$12.87 million	($0.24)	-13.92

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

Risk and Volatility

Kirby has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pyxis Tankers has a beta of -0.71, meaning that its stock price is 171% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Kirby and Pyxis Tankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kirby	10.54%	10.55%	5.86%
Pyxis Tankers	0.67%	2.97%	1.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Kirby and Pyxis Tankers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kirby	0	2	5	0	2.71
Pyxis Tankers	1	0	0	0	1.00

Kirby presently has a consensus price target of $129.40, suggesting a potential upside of 10.21%. Given Kirby’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Kirby is more favorable than Pyxis Tankers.

Summary

Kirby beats Pyxis Tankers on 13 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 Pyxis Tankers

Pyxis Tankers, Inc. is an international maritime transportation holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of a fleet of product tankers. It also deals with the seaborne transportation and shipping of refined petroleum products and other bulk liquids. It operates through the Tanker Vessels and Dry-bulk Vessels segments. The company was founded by Valentios Valentis on March 23, 2015 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.