Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Matson Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Matson stock opened at $106.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Matson has a twelve month low of $61.51 and a twelve month high of $122.99. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.55 and its 200 day moving average is $104.62.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $788.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.60 million. Matson had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $126,268.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 109.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company 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.