Matson (NYSE:MATX) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Separately, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX opened at $125.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.63 and its 200-day moving average is $119.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.07. Matson has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $138.84.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.26. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.68 million. On average, analysts predict that Matson will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $96,072.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,208.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,274,776.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $96,072.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,208.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,376 shares of company stock worth $13,565,120 over the last 90 days. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,984,076 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $447,810,000 after buying an additional 215,452 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 3,509.3% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,910 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,233,000 after acquiring an additional 183,676 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 126.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,448,000 after acquiring an additional 134,092 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,680,000 after purchasing an additional 122,017 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,295,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Company 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.