Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Receives $171.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.25.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th.

Matson Stock Down 1.8%

Matson stock opened at $180.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $189.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.66.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total transaction of $421,709.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,463.48. This represents a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.31, for a total transaction of $1,023,103.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,446,588. This represents a 29.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 42,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,034,602 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $453,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,516 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Matson by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,982,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $244,975,000 after acquiring an additional 21,463 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,300,000 after acquiring an additional 35,229 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 27.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after acquiring an additional 128,994 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after acquiring an additional 269,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.