Matson (NYSE:MATX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

MATX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.33.

Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock opened at $207.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $201.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.48. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total value of $527,884.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,951,625.68. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,595,926.14. This trade represents a 21.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,733 shares of company stock worth $2,863,990. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at about $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Matson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,637,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,761,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.