Matson (NYSE:MATX) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MATX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.25.

Matson Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of Matson stock opened at $152.94 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.23. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $177.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 10.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total value of $2,150,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,067.34. This represents a 28.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 5,225 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total value of $863,797.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,115,248.72. The trade was a 43.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,041 shares of company stock worth $6,645,707. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Matson by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Matson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,154,000 after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 11.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.