Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $91.75 and last traded at $93.00, with a volume of 282018 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.11.

MATX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,168,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth $1,317,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth $449,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 1st quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 212.8% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 11,730 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.70 and its 200 day moving average is $134.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Matson’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

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.