Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its target price increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $150.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 7.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research cut Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $149.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.05. Matson has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in Matson by 28.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,417 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the third quarter worth $210,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 14,162.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 42,786 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,102,000 after acquiring an additional 42,486 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,663 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently 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.