Matson (NYSE:MATX) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $110.07, but opened at $99.06. Matson shares last traded at $98.48, with a volume of 50,025 shares traded.

The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share.

Matson Announces Dividend

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 1.41%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens decreased their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Matson by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 297,914 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $38,184,000 after acquiring an additional 52,151 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the first quarter worth $1,168,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at $1,317,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at about $449,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson in the first quarter worth about $129,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Down 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 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. The stock's 50-day moving average is $114.90 and its 200-day moving average is $134.33.

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.