Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $17,276,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Matson by 12.6% in 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 buying an additional 22,516 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 887.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,441,000 after buying an additional 51,752 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Matson during the second quarter worth about $1,398,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $224.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.71. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $230.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $510,788.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,059.32. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,262 shares of company stock worth $3,223,716 in the last ninety days. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.