Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,818 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MATX. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Matson by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,707 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 3,566 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 28,123 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,082,000 after buying an additional 14,515 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded up $1.21 on Monday, hitting $131.57. 5,287 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,674. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.09. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.68 and a 1-year high of $133.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.06 and a 200-day moving average of $116.52.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. Matson had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $722.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,792 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.11, for a total value of $206,277.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,674.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.11, for a total transaction of $206,277.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,103,674.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $1,580,060.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares in the company, valued at $15,579,754.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,624 shares of company stock valued at $8,447,299 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.