Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $145.00 and last traded at $143.87, with a volume of 9810 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $133.59.

The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $965.73 million. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.40 EPS.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,274,776.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Matson news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,274,776.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $1,293,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,115.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,712 shares of company stock valued at $4,149,098. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 5.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,984,076 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $447,810,000 after buying an additional 215,452 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 911,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $119,422,000 after buying an additional 36,901 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 52.1% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,680,000 after buying an additional 122,017 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 18.1% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 282,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,783,000 after buying an additional 43,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 126.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,448,000 after buying an additional 134,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 14.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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.