Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Purchases 77,731 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 77,731 shares during the period. Matson accounts for about 4.2% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned about 0.67% of Matson worth $30,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Matson in the second quarter worth $105,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,312,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 99.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,322 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after buying an additional 8,634 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Matson by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 98.1% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 10,044 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $134.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.07. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.68 and a 52 week high of $140.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.16.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $861.68 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,843 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.54, for a total value of $1,023,825.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,076,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.54, for a total value of $1,023,825.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,076,024.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $1,580,060.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares in the company, valued at $15,579,754.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,376 shares of company stock worth $13,565,120. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MATX shares. Stephens increased their target price on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Matson 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.