Matson (NYSE:MATX) Price Target Raised to $310.00

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $270.00 to $310.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Freedom Broker began coverage on Matson in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.25.

Matson Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MATX opened at $237.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Matson has a one year low of $92.64 and a one year high of $240.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,944.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Ku‘uhaku Park sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 247.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,101,000 after acquiring an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Matson by 16.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 112,722 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15,657 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Matson in the second quarter worth about $3,072,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Matson by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,940,000 after purchasing an additional 22,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,398,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

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.