Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $208.33 and last traded at $207.49, with a volume of 9253 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $204.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

Matson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.50 and a 200-day moving average of $168.43.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.Matson’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $1,292,502.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,506 shares in the company, valued at $4,595,926.14. This represents a 21.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $527,884.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,656 shares in the company, valued at $2,951,625.68. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 3.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Matson by 12.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,940,000 after acquiring an additional 22,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Matson by 24.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 45,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,499,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.