Matson (NYSE:MATX) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $203.33 and last traded at $206.2880, with a volume of 113550 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $192.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MATX. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

Matson Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.91.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Matson’s payout ratio is 10.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,595,926.14. This trade represents a 21.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $527,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,951,625.68. This trade represents a 15.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $453,616,000 after buying an additional 21,516 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Matson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,982,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $244,975,000 after acquiring an additional 21,463 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,300,000 after acquiring an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 27.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,770,000 after purchasing an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.