GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 14,218.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,977 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 174,748 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.54% of Matson worth $22,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $2,705,000. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $524,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,502,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $259,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MATX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens cut their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE:MATX traded up $0.80 on Friday, reaching $112.89. 345,277 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 342,324. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.30. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Matson's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

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.