Matson (NYSE:MATX) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.21% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.33.

Matson Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of MATX opened at $106.65 on Monday. Matson has a 1-year low of $92.90 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th 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. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.