Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $86.97 and last traded at $89.13, with a volume of 104013 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $94.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.67.

Matson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.84.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. Matson had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $830.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 67.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 2.7% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 5.2% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 4.3% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Matson by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 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.