Stephens Inc. AR Cuts Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,721 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Matson were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 2.7% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 5.2% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.3% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 8.3% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,730 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.67.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Matson stock opened at $93.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.21. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

Matson 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.