Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $164.88 and last traded at $164.25, with a volume of 31847 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $160.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.25.

Matson Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.38.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $880.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $837.72 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 12.70%.Matson’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 67.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Matson during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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.