Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 24th.

Matson Stock Up 3.7 %

MATX opened at $130.86 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.11. Matson has a 12 month low of $74.04 and a 12 month high of $132.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. Matson had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $722.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Matson will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.60, for a total transaction of $98,765.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,492,547. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.48, for a total value of $314,944.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $533,830.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.60, for a total transaction of $98,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,492,547. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,485 shares of company stock worth $619,987. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $1,958,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Matson by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 64,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,014,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 579.8% in the 4th quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 16,819 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after buying an additional 14,345 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,316,000 after buying an additional 19,149 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Matson by 450.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 239,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,243,000 after buying an additional 195,939 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by 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.