Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Matson: Four analysts rate the stock “Buy” and one rates it “Strong Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $232.33.
• Matson exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.27 in EPS versus the $3.79 consensus and revenue of $969.4 million, up 16.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, or $1.52 annually, representing a 0.7% yield and a 10.16% payout ratio.

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $232.3333.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

Matson Trading Up 0.8%

MATX opened at $207.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Matson has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $230.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson's payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total value of $275,196.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,633.40. This trade represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $450,475.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,979,206.96. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,733 shares of company stock valued at $2,863,990 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,637,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,761,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc NYSE: MATX is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson's ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.

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