Matson (NYSE:MATX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $96.21, but opened at $110.25. Matson shares last traded at $112.61, with a volume of 114,333 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

Matson Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.96%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade 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 bought and sold shares of MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% during 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. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.