Reviewing Hermitage Offshore Services (OTCMKTS:HOFSQ) & Kirby (NYSE:KEX)

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) and Hermitage Offshore Services (OTCMKTS:HOFSQ) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.2% of Kirby shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Kirby shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Hermitage Offshore Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Kirby and Hermitage Offshore Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kirby	0	2	3	0	2.60
Hermitage Offshore Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

Kirby currently has a consensus price target of $114.50, suggesting a potential upside of 36.04%. Given Kirby’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Kirby is more favorable than Hermitage Offshore Services.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Kirby and Hermitage Offshore Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kirby	$3.27 billion	1.44	$286.71 million	$5.29	15.91
Hermitage Offshore Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Kirby has higher revenue and earnings than Hermitage Offshore Services.

Profitability

This table compares Kirby and Hermitage Offshore Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kirby	9.25%	10.02%	5.63%
Hermitage Offshore Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Kirby beats Hermitage Offshore Services on 9 of the 9 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 Hermitage Offshore Services

Hermitage Offshore Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in offshore support vessel business primarily in the North Sea and off the coast of West Africa. It owns and operates a fleet of 23 vessels comprising of ten platform supply vessels, 11 crew boats, and 2 anchor handling supply vessels. The company was formerly known Nordic American Offshore Ltd. and changed its name to Hermitage Offshore Services Ltd. in June 2019. Hermitage Offshore Services Ltd. was founded in 2013 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. On August 11, 2020, Hermitage Offshore Services Ltd., along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.