Matson, Inc. $MATX Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP sold 55,071 shares of Matson, Inc., reducing its stake by 75.3%, leaving it with only 18,086 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million.
• Matson reported an earnings surprise this quarter, with an EPS of $2.92, beating the consensus estimate by $0.74, although revenue decreased by 2% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, reflecting confidence in its financial stability with a low payout ratio of 9.74%.

Trexquant Investment LP cut its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 75.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,086 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 55,071 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.06% of Matson worth $2,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 2.7% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 5.2% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.3% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 11.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total value of $114,777.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.67.

Matson Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MATX traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.97. 41,949 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,050. 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 twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.15.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

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.