StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Matson (NYSE:MATX)

Posted by Doug Wharley on Mar 19th, 2023

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MATX. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matson from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Matson from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Matson from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 19th.

Matson Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of MATX traded down $4.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $60.00. The company had a trading volume of 935,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,607. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.18. Matson has a 52 week low of $58.06 and a 52 week high of $125.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.18.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The shipping company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Matson had a return on equity of 49.26% and a net margin of 24.50%. The firm had revenue of $801.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $801.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 36.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $186,244.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,248.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Mark H. Fukunaga acquired 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.59 per share, with a total value of $100,027.07. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,545,046.23. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total value of $186,244.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,248.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 103.7% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 41,147 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 20,947 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in Matson during the third quarter valued at about $2,652,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Matson by 69.7% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 94,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,826,000 after acquiring an additional 38,900 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 13.9% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 7,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in shares of Matson by 1.4% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 18,687 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.55% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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Matson, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of logistics and transportation services. It operates through the Ocean Transportation and Logistics segments. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation, container stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, and other terminal services.