Sifting through countless of stocks in the Marine Transportation industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. or Kirby Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of dry bulk carrier vessels worldwide. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including iron ores, minerals and grains, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2025, the company owned a fleet of 136 dry bulk vessels consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 55,569 deadweight tonnage and 209,537 deadweight tonnage. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Marousi, Greece.

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessels transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barges throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and coastwise along three United States coasts, Alaska, and Hawaii. It transports petrochemicals, black oils, refined petroleum products, and agricultural chemicals by tank barges; and operates offshore dry-bulk barges and tugboat units that are involved in the offshore transportation of dry-bulk cargos in the United States coastal trade. It owns and operates 1,105 inland tank barges, approximately 266 inland towboats, 28 coastal tank barges, 24 coastal tugboats, 2 offshore dry-bulk cargo barges, 3 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 for use 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 various companies in 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.

Latest Marine Transportation and Star Bulk Carriers Corp., Kirby Corporation Stock News

As of August 7, 2026, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. had a $3.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Marine Transportation median of $773.9 million. Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 50.91% in the past year.

Currently, Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 23.2. Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 23.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.297 per share for the current fiscal year. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

Currently, Kirby Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 20.2. Kirby Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.5 billion with a 10.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.089 per share for the current fiscal year. Kirby Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	B
Kirby Corporation	KEX	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Value Score of 69, which is Value. Kirby Corporation has a Value Score of 65, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Value Grade breakdown above, both Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation have a Value Grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, you will need to conduct further research into both of these companies’ other metrics to see if they could be good additions to your portfolio. It’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	B
Kirby Corporation	KEX	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong. Kirby Corporation has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Kirby Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Kirby Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Star Bulk Carriers Corp.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Kirby Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	B
Kirby Corporation	KEX	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Momentum Score of 72, which is Strong. Kirby Corporation has a Momentum Score of 51, which is Average.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Kirby Corporation. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation Grades

In addition to Value, Growth and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. or Kirby Corporation Stock?

Overall, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. stock has a Value Score of 69, Growth Score of 77 and Momentum Score of 72.

Kirby Corporation stock has a Value Score of 65, Growth Score of 100 and Momentum Score of 51.

Comparing Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Kirby Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.