Matson (NYSE:MATX) Shares Up 6.9% – Should You Buy?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s share price shot up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $223.17 and last traded at $223.3450. Approximately 46,675 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 284,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

Matson Stock Down 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $193.74 and a 200 day moving average of $171.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,979,206.96. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $527,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,951,625.68. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,963 shares of company stock valued at $4,349,268 in the last 90 days. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $3,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Matson by 3.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Matson by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,940,000 after acquiring an additional 22,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 45,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Company Profile

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.