Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $1.61 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 16,305 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.05% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Matson by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 7.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,778 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Matson by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,135,000 after buying an additional 2,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Matson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/peer analysis that mentions Matson but is not a company-specific catalyst: a comparison piece that reviews Matson alongside other transportation names; may provide context but is unlikely to be an immediate stock driver. Article LinkArticle
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives sold stock on March 3 — a substantial block of insider selling that can pressure sentiment. Notable moves: EVP Peter Heilmann sold 13,000 shares (~$2.15M at ~$165.46); EVP Vic Angoco Jr. sold 6,189 shares (~$1.02M); SVP Richard Kinney sold 5,225 shares (~$863.8K); and several other VPs/SVPs sold smaller positions. These transactions materially reduced insiders’ holdings (individual decreases ranged ~5%–52%), which investors often view as a negative signal about near-term insider conviction. SEC filings for the disclosed trades are available: Heilmann (Read More.), Stuck (Read More.), Park (Read More.), Rascon (Read More.), Angoco (Read More.), Isotoff (Read More.), Kinney (Read More.).
• Negative Sentiment: Critical media coverage: a Seeking Alpha piece argues Matson’s high valuation could be a risk going forward, which can amplify selling pressure if investors re-rate multiples despite recent earnings beats. Article LinkArticle

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MATX. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $339,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,484 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,448.36. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.31, for a total transaction of $1,023,103.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 31,438 shares of company stock valued at $5,216,491 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $167.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.52. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $177.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The firm had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.80 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.33%.

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.