Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) VP Sells $421,709.92 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) VP Kevin Stuck sold 2,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total value of $421,709.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $389,463.48. This trade represents a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Matson Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $152.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $152.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.11. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $177.51. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

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.