Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a "Hold", reflecting mixed analyst sentiment (three Buy, four Hold) and an average analyst target price of $171.
• Matson beat quarterly EPS estimates with $4.60 per share (vs. $3.69 expected) and reported $851.9M in revenue, though revenue was down 4.3% year-over-year; the company trades at a P/E of 12.52 and has a market cap of about $5.3 billion.
• Insiders have sold 42,550 shares worth roughly $7.03M in the past 90 days, while institutional investors own about 84.76% of the company.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MATX. Stephens boosted their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $171.00.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $174.53 on Wednesday. Matson has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $180.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $165.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.10.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.80 earnings per share. Matson's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Matson will post 13.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 2,509 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $388,895.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,252,615. The trade was a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total value of $2,150,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,407,067.34. This represents a 28.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,034,602. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth about $740,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 50,580 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 16,712 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of Matson by 2,944.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 57,850 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,703,000 after purchasing an additional 55,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 67,332 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 13,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

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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