Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Short Interest Update

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decrease of 23.5% from the April 30th total of 1,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 522,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 4.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MATX. 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. 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. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In related news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Matson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,798,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Matson by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $112.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 167,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,212. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson has a 1-year low of $91.75 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.62.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

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.