Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $178.61 and last traded at $178.4330, with a volume of 38338 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $174.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.25.

Matson Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The company had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.80 EPS. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.33%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total transaction of $421,709.92. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,463.48. This trade represents a 51.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 2,509 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $388,895.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,533 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,615. The trade was a 14.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 42,550 shares of company stock worth $7,034,602 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MATX. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 124.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.