William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $21.04 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC has acquired a significant $21.04 million stake in Matson, Inc., purchasing approximately 188,931 shares of the shipping company during the second quarter.
• Matson's stock has received a mix of ratings, with analysts issuing a consensus “Hold” rating and a target price of $131.67.
• Despite a recent earnings report showing a year-over-year revenue decline, Matson exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $2.92, significantly above the forecasted $2.18.

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 188,931 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $21,037,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Matson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Matson by 495.3% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 381 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Matson by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 442 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Matson by 30.4% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MATX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.67.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $94.59 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $102.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.51. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

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.

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