Matson (NYSE:MATX) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price target on the shipping company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.21% from the stock's current price.

MATX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.33.

Matson Trading Up 4.2 %

MATX opened at $106.65 on Monday. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $92.90 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.70 and its 200 day moving average is $136.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

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

Institutional Trading of Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 67.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.