Matson (NYSE:MATX) Research Coverage Started at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $260.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.25.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $231.09 on Wednesday. Matson has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $240.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $220.18 and a 200 day moving average of $197.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.91 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $510,788.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Leonard Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,359,574.10. The trade was a 16.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 3.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Matson by 0.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and supply chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containers, vehicles, construction materials, food products and other cargo between the U.S. mainland and the noncontiguous markets of Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, as well as locations in the South Pacific and Micronesia.

Matson also operates ocean transportation services connecting the U.S. West Coast with China and Japan.