Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Matson shares traded as high as $180.88 and were last around $175.38 on the session, signaling strong market interest.
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold with an average target of $171, but JPMorgan and Stephens have set substantially higher targets of $230 and $213 respectively.
• Fundamentals show a quarter beat (EPS $4.60 vs. $3.69) and revenue of $851.9M, with low leverage (debt/equity 0.11), a $0.36 quarterly dividend (0.8% yield) and a PE of 12.66, though revenue declined 4.3% year‑over‑year.

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $180.88 and last traded at $175.3820, with a volume of 42027 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $172.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MATX. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Stephens increased their price target on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $171.00.

Matson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.33.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The business had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $847.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is 10.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 8,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.13, for a total transaction of $1,429,216.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,738 shares in the company, valued at $3,943,593.94. This represents a 26.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 2,509 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $388,895.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,615. This trade represents a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,034,602. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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