Matson (NYSE:MATX) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $165.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $140.11 on Thursday. Matson has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.40 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Matson will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 11.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rusty K. Rolfe sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.97, for a total transaction of $497,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,929.87. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $79,339.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.04. This represents a 10.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,646 shares of company stock valued at $1,578,768. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Matson by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,653 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 15.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 6.3% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,139 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Matson by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 11,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Company Profile

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.