Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish view on Matson: Four firms rate the stock “Buy” and one rates it “Strong Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $232.33. Recent target increases include Stephens at $260 and JPMorgan at $270, although Wall Street Zen downgraded the shares to “Hold.”
• Matson reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $4.27, exceeding the $3.79 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $969.4 million. The company’s shares opened at $218.79, near their 12-month high of $230.74.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, equal to a $1.52 annualized payout and a 0.7% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold $3.22 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own 84.76% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $232.3333.

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens upped their price objective on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

Matson Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $218.79 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $210.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.26. Matson has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. 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 business earned $2.92 earnings per share. Matson's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Matson's payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $399,675.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,590,778.70. This trade represents a 20.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,223,716 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Matson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Company Profile

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.

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