Denali Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,740 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $872,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Matson by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,081 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,451 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Matson by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,374,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Matson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,852 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. This represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX opened at $104.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $112.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.64. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.75 and a 1-year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The business's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MATX. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday. Stephens dropped their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MATX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.