Matson (NYSE:MATX) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Matson Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $96.19 on Wednesday. Matson has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.33. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Matson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

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.