Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Receives $181.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.25.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $222.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.25. Matson has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. Analysts expect that Matson will post 14.16 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,595,926.14. This represents a 21.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,979,206.96. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MATX. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

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.