Matson (NYSE:MATX) Now Covered by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $230.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MATX. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Stephens increased their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Matson Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of MATX opened at $176.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.99. Matson has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $180.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.33.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $847.30 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.80 EPS.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.33%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In related news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total value of $421,709.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,463.48. This represents a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 5,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total transaction of $863,797.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,248.72. The trade was a 43.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,034,602. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Matson in the third quarter valued at $26,415,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $17,276,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 27.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after acquiring an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Matson in the third quarter valued at $9,503,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.