Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Stock Rated “Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $239.25.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MATX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,786,059.32. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $216,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Matson by 269.3% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 35,230 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,772,000 after purchasing an additional 25,691 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Matson by 247.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,101,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 16.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 112,722 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $231.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $240.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.44.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and supply chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containers, vehicles, construction materials, food products and other cargo between the U.S. mainland and the noncontiguous markets of Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, as well as locations in the South Pacific and Micronesia.

Matson also operates ocean transportation services connecting the U.S. West Coast with China and Japan.