Royce & Associates LP Invests $9.50 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 96,391 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,503,000. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.31% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Matson by 8.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,154,000 after buying an additional 6,778 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Matson by 11.3% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.25.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $168.37 on Wednesday. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $177.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $150.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $847.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is 10.33%.

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.