Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to "Buy" by StockNews.com

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.86. 227,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,233. Matson has a 52 week low of $60.30 and a 52 week high of $122.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $788.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.60 million. Matson had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Matson will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,397,261.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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