Matson (NYSE:MATX) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Matson Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $108.05 on Friday. Matson has a 52 week low of $61.51 and a 52 week high of $122.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. Matson had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $788.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Matson will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $1,958,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 105.0% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,316,000 after purchasing an additional 19,149 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Matson by 317.4% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 24,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 18,830 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 25.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,648 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 12,285 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Matson by 178.9% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 9,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 5,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.