Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Matson Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MATX stock opened at $125.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.07. Matson has a 12-month low of $82.68 and a 12-month high of $138.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.96.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.68 million. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. Equities research analysts predict that Matson will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,274,776.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 8,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.80, for a total transaction of $1,151,600.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,491,175.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,274,776.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,376 shares of company stock worth $13,565,120. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Security National Bank purchased a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Matson in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.