Matson (NYSE:MATX) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MATX. Stephens lowered their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $115.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.87. Matson has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,682 shares of company stock worth $1,550,551. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 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.