Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 962,700 shares, a decline of 24.8% from the March 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 353,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens upped their price objective on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $542,759,000 after buying an additional 11,357 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $141,551,000 after acquiring an additional 91,172 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Matson by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $101,590,000 after buying an additional 58,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $89,432,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $103.54. 325,448 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,076. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.93. Matson has a 1-year low of $92.90 and a 1-year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

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.