Matson (NYSE:MATX) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MATX. Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens increased their price target on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.33.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock opened at $207.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.72. Matson has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74.

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

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total value of $527,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,951,625.68. This trade represents a 15.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total transaction of $220,284.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,301,690.02. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,733 shares of company stock valued at $2,863,990 over the last three months. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at about $57,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $952,903,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,846,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,259,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $333,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.