Matson, Inc. $MATX Position Boosted by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Matson, Inc. by 20.4% during the second quarter, now owning 92,577 shares valued at approximately $10.3 million.
• Wall Street analysts currently rate Matson's stock with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.67.
• Matson recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, yielding 1.4% with a payout ratio of 9.74%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 20.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,577 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 15,659 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.28% of Matson worth $10,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Boston Partners raised its stake in Matson by 424.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 958,170 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $121,428,000 after buying an additional 775,600 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the first quarter worth about $23,325,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 14,218.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 175,977 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 174,748 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $14,183,000. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the first quarter worth about $11,535,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE MATX traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $104.95. The company had a trading volume of 61,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,878. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.75 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.21. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $106.23 and its 200 day moving average is $110.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $830.50 million during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.67.

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.