Matson (NYSE:MATX) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Hold

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $115.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $135.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 2.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MATX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Matson Trading Up 0.4%

MATX opened at $111.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.28. Matson has a twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued 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). Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares in the company, valued at $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $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 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.