Matson (NYSE:MATX) Given New $150.00 Price Target at Stephens

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its price target trimmed by Stephens from $175.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the shipping company’s stock.

MATX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.00.

Matson Stock Down 15.3 %

NYSE:MATX opened at $93.27 on Tuesday. Matson has a one year low of $92.90 and a one year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.