Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Acquired by LSV Asset Management

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 holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,914 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,151 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.91% of Matson worth $38,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $35,016,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,897,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 177,000 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 14,218.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 175,977 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $22,555,000 after buying an additional 174,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,204,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. This represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of MATX stock traded up $2.85 on Tuesday, reaching $111.47. 334,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,735. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.13. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.22.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%. Matson's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Matson Company 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.