Matson (NYSE:MATX) & Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) (OTCMKTS:ULTRF) Financial Contrast

Matson (NYSE:MATX) and Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) (OTCMKTS:ULTRF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Matson and Ultrapetrol (Bahamas), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matson	0	2	3	0	2.60
Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)	0	0	0	0	0.00

Matson currently has a consensus price target of $232.33, indicating a potential upside of 13.07%. Given Matson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Matson is more favorable than Ultrapetrol (Bahamas).

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Matson and Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matson	$3.46 billion	1.80	$444.80 million	$14.96	13.74
Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Matson has higher revenue and earnings than Ultrapetrol (Bahamas).

Profitability

This table compares Matson and Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matson	13.41%	17.01%	10.07%
Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Matson has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) has a beta of -0.79, indicating that its share price is 179% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.8% of Matson shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Matson shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Matson beats Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It primarily transports dry containers of mixed commodities, refrigerated commodities, food products, beverages, building materials, automobiles, and household goods; livestock; seafood; general sustenance cargo; and garments, footwear, e-commerce, and other retail merchandise. This segment also operates an expedited service from China to Long Beach, California, and various islands in the South Pacific, as well as Okinawa, Japan; and provides stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, container equipment maintenance, and other terminal services to ocean carriers on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, as well as in the Alaska locations of Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor. In addition, it offers vessel management and container transshipment services. The Logistics segment provides multimodal transportation brokerage services, including domestic and international rail intermodal, long-haul and regional highway trucking, specialized hauling, flat-bed and project, less-than-truckload, and expedited freight services; less-than-container load consolidation and freight forwarding services; warehousing and distribution services; supply chain management services, and non-vessel operating common carrier freight forwarding services. It serves the U.S. military, freight forwarders, retailers, consumer goods, automobile manufacturers, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Matson, Inc. in June 2012. Matson, Inc. was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About Ultrapetrol (Bahamas)

Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited, an industrial shipping company, provides marine transportation services in South America, Europe, Central America, North America, and Asia. The company operates in three segments: River Business, Offshore Supply Business, and Ocean Business. The River Business segment owns and operates dry and tanker barges, and push boats in the Hidrovia region of South America. Its dry barges transport agricultural and forestry products, iron ore, and other cargoes; and tanker barges carry petroleum products, vegetable oils, and other liquids. As of December 31, 2015, this segment had 681 barges with approximately 1.3 million dwt capacity; and 34 push boats. The Offshore Supply Business segment owns and operates vessels that provide logistical and transportation services for offshore petroleum exploration and production companies. It transports supplies, such as containerized equipment, drill casings, pipes, and heavy loads; fuel, water, drilling fluids, and bulk cement; and various other supplies to drilling rigs and platforms. This segment's fleet consisted of 13 platform supply vessels and 1 remotely operated vehicle. The Ocean Business segment owns and operates oceangoing vessels, which transports petroleum products, as well as a container line service in the Argentine cabotage trade. The company serves petroleum, agricultural, and mining companies. Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Nassau, the Bahamas. Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Limited is a subsidiary of Sparrow Capital Investments Ltd.