Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Rated Buy in New Coverage at Freedom Broker

Investment analysts at Freedom Broker assumed coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Freedom Broker’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.55% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MATX. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.25.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX traded down $7.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $219.32. 344,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,723. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.85. Matson has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $240.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company 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. Matson’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total value of $1,100,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,395.90. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth $44,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Matson by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Matson in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

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.