Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Matson (NYSE:MATX) to Hold

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $115.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $135.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $104.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Matson has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Matson’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,136.68. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Matson by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 41,489 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,620,000 after buying an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,009,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Matson by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,164,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Hedge funds and other 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.