Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on MATX. Stephens raised their price objective on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock opened at $207.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.72 and a 200-day moving average of $179.48. Matson has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $230.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Matson will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total value of $220,284.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,301,690.02. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total transaction of $275,196.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,633.40. This trade represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,733 shares of company stock valued at $2,863,990. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 144.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the third quarter worth $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth $50,637,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 1st quarter worth about $32,761,000. 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.