Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Bumped Down to “Hold” by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.25.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE:MATX opened at $224.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.30. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $240.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $221.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.46.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Ku‘uhaku Park sold 1,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $208,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at $2,081,564.16. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,059.32. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and supply chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containers, vehicles, construction materials, food products and other cargo between the U.S. mainland and the noncontiguous markets of Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, as well as locations in the South Pacific and Micronesia.

Matson also operates ocean transportation services connecting the U.S. West Coast with China and Japan.