Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 3,409 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 6.1%, owning approximately 0.18% of the company valued at $7.64 million.
• Matson recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, up from $0.34, representing a yield of 1.4%.
• Several analysts have lowered their price targets for Matson, with the consensus currently at $131.67 and a rating of "Hold."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,592 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Matson worth $7,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MATX. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 26,929 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $4,328,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,300 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $547,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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 research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $104.04. The stock had a trading volume of 215,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,622. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.91.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's payout ratio is 9.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $914,196.80. This trade represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of Matson 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 $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.