Matson (NYSE:MATX) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $135.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MATX. StockNews.com raised Matson from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

Matson Stock Up 1.3 %

MATX stock opened at $120.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 1.12. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $67.97 and a fifty-two week high of $122.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $110.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.99.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $722.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.44 million. Matson had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.61%. Matson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Matson will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.09%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.48, for a total value of $314,944.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,830.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Matson news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.60, for a total value of $98,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,492,547. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.48, for a total value of $314,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,830.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,656 shares of company stock valued at $746,256 over the last ninety days. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,958,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,316,000 after purchasing an additional 19,149 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 450.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 239,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,243,000 after purchasing an additional 195,939 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Matson by 317.4% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 24,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,197,000 after buying an additional 18,830 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Matson by 25.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,648 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 12,285 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Matson

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.