Matson (NYSE:MATX) Price Target Raised to $310.00

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $270.00 to $310.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the shipping company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 31.84% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MATX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens boosted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Freedom Broker initiated coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.25.

Matson Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $7.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $235.13. 133,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 286,688. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.30. Matson has a 52-week low of $88.59 and a 52-week high of $240.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $222.92 and its 200-day moving average is $200.34.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ku‘uhaku Park sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $510,788.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 17.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 156.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the second quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Matson by 269.3% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 35,230 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,772,000 after buying an additional 25,691 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.