Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Price

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its target price lifted by Stephens from $270.00 to $300.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Freedom Broker started coverage on Matson in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Matson from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.25.

Matson Stock Up 0.8%

MATX opened at $213.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.04. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $101.98 and a fifty-two week high of $240.87.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Matson had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The business’s revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Matson will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total value of $260,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,359,574.10. The trade was a 16.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher A. Scott sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $131,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,944.60. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832 over the last ninety days. 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 MATX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $952,903,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Matson by 12,239.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 233,584 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,304,000 after buying an additional 231,691 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,637,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,796,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,066,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Matson

Here are the key news stories impacting Matson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 diluted EPS was $6.96, above the $6.27 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.11 billion also exceeded expectations of $1.07 billion. Revenue rose 26.5% year over year, and net income increased to $209.4 million from $134.7 million. Matson Q3 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year outlook and expects Q4 operating income to be about 50% higher, citing elevated China freight rates expected to persist into early 2027. Strong China service demand, port congestion, and e-commerce activity also supported Q3 results. Matson Q4 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $300 from $270 and maintained an “overweight” rating, signaling increased analyst optimism. Matson also repurchased approximately 300,000 shares during Q3. Stephens rating and target
• Neutral Sentiment: The stronger near-term outlook is tied in part to elevated China freight rates; the outlook therefore depends on those market conditions continuing as expected.

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 containerized and bulk cargo, automobiles and other goods between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and selected South Pacific destinations. Matson also operates services linking the U.S. West Coast with China, Japan and South Korea.

The company serves a broad range of customers, including retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, government agencies and individual consumers.