Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Price

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its target price upped by analysts at Stephens from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.14% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research lowered Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Matson Stock Up 4.2 %

NYSE:MATX 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. Matson has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.46 and its 200-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 (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $542,759,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $141,551,000 after buying an additional 91,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Matson by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,590,000 after acquiring an additional 58,027 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Matson by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $89,432,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.