Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells 402 Shares

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Jennifer Tungul sold 402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $83,812.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,083.48. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Matson Trading Up 4.9%

Matson stock traded up $10.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.41. 239,233 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $230.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.52.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Matson in the second quarter valued at $1,303,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,390,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,245,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $390,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens lifted their target price on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

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.