Matson, Inc. $MATX Shares Purchased by Forest Avenue Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 18.2%, owning 274,334 shares worth approximately $35.16 million.
• Matson recently reported a Q2 EPS of $2.92, exceeding expectations by $0.74, although its revenue saw a 2% decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36 per share, up from $0.34, representing a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 274,334 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,162 shares during the quarter. Matson accounts for 4.8% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned 0.84% of Matson worth $35,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Matson by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 958,170 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $121,428,000 after buying an additional 775,600 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,897,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,325,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 worth $56,157,000 after buying an additional 177,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 worth $22,555,000 after buying an additional 174,748 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Matson stock opened at $106.1880 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average is $109.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.41.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MATX. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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