Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Has $35.16 Million Holdings in Matson, Inc. $MATX

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 boosted its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,334 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,162 shares during the period. Matson comprises 4.8% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned about 0.84% of Matson worth $35,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Matson during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 30.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 676.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 769 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 112.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total value of $114,777.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MATX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

Matson Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:MATX traded down $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $105.03. 102,846 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,950. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.22.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

About Matson

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.