Matson (NYSE:MATX) Price Target Raised to $300.00

Key Points

• Stephens raised its Matson price target to $300 from $270 and maintained an “overweight” rating; the new target implies 33.15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are generally positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $259.25, while JPMorgan’s target is $310.
• Matson beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $6.96 versus $6.27 expected and revenue of $1.11 billion versus $1.07 billion; revenue grew 26.5% year over year.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by Stephens from $270.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the shipping company's stock. Stephens's price target suggests a potential upside of 33.15% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Matson from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research lowered Matson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $259.25.

Matson Trading Up 6.6%

Shares of MATX opened at $225.31 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $227.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.33. Matson has a 52-week low of $101.98 and a 52-week high of $240.87.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. Matson's revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,059.32. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Matson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat expectations: Matson earned $6.96 per diluted share, versus analyst consensus of $6.27, while revenue reached $1.11 billion against estimates of $1.07 billion. Net income rose to $209.4 million from $134.7 million a year earlier, and revenue increased 26.5%. Matson Q3 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger outlook: Matson raised its full-year outlook and expects Q4 operating income to be about 50% higher year over year. Management cited elevated China freight rates, which it expects to persist into early 2027. Matson Q4 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable shipping conditions: Reports point to China service demand, port congestion and e-commerce activity as factors lifting results. Matson also repurchased approximately 0.3 million shares during Q3. Q3 business and demand drivers

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.

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