Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $198.13 and last traded at $197.8850, with a volume of 12251 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $193.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.25.

Matson Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.58%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 3,331 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $600,046.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719,796.58. The trade was a 25.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 3,305 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $595,362.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,611.92. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 144.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after acquiring an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $26,415,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth $32,761,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $17,276,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,770,000 after acquiring an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.