StockNews.com cut shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday.
Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.
Matson Price Performance
MATX traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $112.40. 233,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,363. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.15. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Matson has a 12-month low of $56.51 and a 12-month high of $122.99.
Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $788.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.60 million. Matson had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Matson will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Matson Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.27%.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,779 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the first quarter valued at about $473,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Matson during the first quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 49.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,040 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 7,283 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.