Matson, Inc. (MATX) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 6th

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This is a 5.6% increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Matson has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Matson has a dividend payout ratio of 14.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Matson to earn $14.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.7%.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $194.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.96 and a 200 day moving average of $162.52. Matson has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $203.08.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.