Kirby Corp (KEX) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Kirby's P/E of 18.5 is below its own 5-year median of 23.2.

P/E above the industry

Kirby's P/E of 18.5 is above the Water Transportation median of 12.7.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Kirby's EV/EBITDA of 9.9 is below its 5-year median of 11.6.

P/B below the industry

Kirby's price-to-book of 1.97 is below the Water Transportation median of 2.12.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $128.17 is above our fair value estimate of $118.00.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 8.6% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 6.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 46.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 8.5% over the last twelve months; the Water Transportation median is 4.9%.

Guidance lowered

Kirby lowered its 2026 marine maintenance capital and improvements to existing inland and coastal marine equipment, and facility improvements outlook on Jul 29, 2026.

Gross margin trend

This company does not report gross profit.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 11.0% over the last twelve months and averaged 4.5% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 8.8%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity below the industry

Kirby's return on equity of 11.0% is below the Water Transportation median of 13.0%.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 10.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 4.0%.

Net margin below the industry

Kirby's net margin of 10.4% is below the Water Transportation median of 11.4%.

Low debt

Debt is 31.0% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 47.6% five years ago to 31.0%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 58.7% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 11.7 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.70 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 3.18; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

No dividend

Kirby has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

Yield against Treasuries

No dividend.

Yield against the market

No dividend.

Dividend stability

No dividend.

Earnings cover

No dividend.

Cash-flow cover

No dividend.