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

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. 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.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Matson by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 28,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,671,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the first quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the first quarter worth approximately $872,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,081 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,803,000 after buying an additional 6,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Down 10.9 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson Company Profile

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.