Matson, Inc. $MATX Stock Holdings Lifted by Compass Financial Management LLC

Key Points

• Compass Financial Management increased its Matson stake by 419.2% in the third quarter, to 9,180 shares worth about $2.02 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.76% of the company.
• Matson reported quarterly EPS of $6.96, beating the $6.27 consensus, while revenue rose 26.5% year over year to $1.11 billion. The company also raised its full-year outlook.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $249.25; five analysts rate the stock Buy and one rates it Hold.

Compass Financial Management LLC grew its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 419.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,180 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,412 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC's holdings in Matson were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Matson by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,860 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,951,000 after purchasing an additional 11,899 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in Matson by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,403 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in Matson by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Matson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher A. Scott sold 600 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $131,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,944.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total transaction of $1,100,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,514,395.90. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832. 2.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matson Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $210.14 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $101.44 and a one year high of $240.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.55 and a 200-day moving average of $193.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.33.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Key Headlines Impacting Matson

Here are the key news stories impacting Matson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 diluted EPS was $6.96, up from $4.24 a year earlier and above estimates of $6.27 (and the Zacks consensus of $6.09). Revenue rose 26.5% year over year to $1.11 billion, also exceeding forecasts. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Net income increased to $209.4 million from $134.7 million, while EBITDA rose to $310.6 million from $212.3 million. Matson also raised its full-year outlook and repurchased about 0.3 million shares during the quarter. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat and improved outlook, MATX is trading lower. The available reports do not point to a specific negative company development behind the move, so profit-taking or expectations already reflected in the share price are possible but unconfirmed explanations.

About Matson

Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and supply chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containerized and bulk cargo, automobiles and other goods between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and selected South Pacific destinations. Matson also operates services linking the U.S. West Coast with China, Japan and South Korea.

The company serves a broad range of customers, including retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, government agencies and individual consumers.

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