Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $145.00 and last traded at $143.87, with a volume of 9810 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $133.59.

The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.40 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.82, for a total value of $934,686.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,898 shares in the company, valued at $30,043,710.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.82, for a total transaction of $934,686.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 208,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,043,710.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total transaction of $96,072.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,208.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,712 shares of company stock worth $4,149,098 over the last quarter. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Matson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.76.

About Matson

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.