Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $178.61 and last traded at $178.4330, with a volume of 38338 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $174.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MATX shares. Stephens upped their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Matson Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.33.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 5,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total transaction of $863,797.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,115,248.72. This represents a 43.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total value of $421,709.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,463.48. The trade was a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,550 shares of company stock worth $7,034,602. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Matson by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Matson by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Matson by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,778 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Matson by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.