Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Takes $5.19 Million Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 38,512 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,193,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.12% of Matson at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

Matson Stock Up 5.2 %

Matson stock opened at $99.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.59.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

Matson 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.