Matson (NYSE:MATX) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $111.62, but opened at $109.02. Matson shares last traded at $105.04, with a volume of 56,648 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MATX. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Matson Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day moving average price is $112.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.96%.

Insider Activity at Matson

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $542,759,000 after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,158,834 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $148,528,000 after acquiring an additional 71,902 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Matson by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 958,170 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $121,428,000 after acquiring an additional 775,600 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Matson by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $101,590,000 after acquiring an additional 58,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Matson by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $89,432,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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.