Park West Asset Management LLC Invests $11.54 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Park West Asset Management LLC acquired 90,000 shares of Matson, Inc. for approximately $11.54 million, representing around 0.28% ownership in the shipping company.
• Matson's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.92, exceeding estimates and showing a revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.36 per share, reflecting an increase from the prior dividend, with a 1.4% dividend yield.

Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 90,000 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $11,535,000. Park West Asset Management LLC owned 0.28% of Matson at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Matson by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 20,570 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 177,000 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Matson by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,560 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $5,193,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 256.5% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 104,518 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $14,093,000 after buying an additional 75,200 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.67.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.93. 254,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,581. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.02.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.74. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%.The firm had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Matson's payout ratio is presently 9.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Matson

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.