LSV Asset Management Has $38.18 Million Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 21.2%, purchasing an additional 52,151 shares, bringing its total ownership to 297,914 shares valued at $38.18 million.
• Matson has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.44 and a yield of 1.3%.
• Despite a small decrease in revenue year-over-year, Matson reported earnings of $2.92 per share, significantly exceeding analyst estimates of $2.18.

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 21.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,914 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,151 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.91% of Matson worth $38,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Matson by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $101,590,000 after buying an additional 58,027 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $89,432,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Matson by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 484,432 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $65,321,000 after purchasing an additional 61,204 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Matson by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 177,000 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 346,589 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $46,734,000 after acquiring an additional 108,774 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $110.16. 119,427 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,508. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $111.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MATX. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

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.