Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 22.7%, now owning 48,600 shares valued at $6.23 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Matson recently reported $2.92 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding the expected $2.18, despite a 2.0% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.34 to $0.36 per share, reflecting a positive change in its dividend policy.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 22.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,600 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Matson worth $6,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Matson by 16.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 73.9% in the 4th 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. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Matson by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,201 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,376,000 after buying an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Matson by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,560 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,193,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,477,703.54. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of MATX opened at $104.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.21. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $108.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. Matson had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Matson's payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Matson Profile

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.

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