Matson (NYSE:MATX) PT Lowered to $73.00

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) had its target price dropped by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $79.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.00% from the company’s previous close.

MATX has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matson from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 17th.

Matson Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE MATX opened at $63.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.25. Matson has a 12 month low of $58.06 and a 12 month high of $125.34.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The shipping company reported $6.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $0.14. Matson had a net margin of 28.71% and a return on equity of 68.93%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson will post 28.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.41, for a total transaction of $136,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,495.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.74, for a total transaction of $523,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 238,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,614,787.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 2,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.41, for a total transaction of $136,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,495.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,832 shares of company stock valued at $830,845. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 42,296 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Matson by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,642 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Matson by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,665 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 83.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Matson

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Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides ocean transportation and logistics services. The company's Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.