Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

Matson Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $207.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.48. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $450,475.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,979,206.96. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,506 shares in the company, valued at $4,595,926.14. This represents a 21.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,733 shares of company stock worth $2,863,990. 2.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Matson during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter worth about $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.