Vident Advisory LLC Increases Stake in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 34.8%, now owning 14,094 shares worth approximately $1.8 million.
• Matson recently reported an earnings per share of $2.92, surpassing analysts' expectations and detailing a revenue of $830.5 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.36 per share, representing a yield of 1.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 7th.

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,094 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Matson were worth $1,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 2.7% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 4.3% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 11.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $104.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $108.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.21. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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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