Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 1-Year High at $137.72

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $137.72 and last traded at $137.39, with a volume of 8705 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $135.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Matson Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.09.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.68 million. Matson had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 10.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $1,580,060.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,579,754.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 8,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.80, for a total value of $1,151,600.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 151,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,491,175.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $1,580,060.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,579,754.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,876 shares of company stock valued at $12,400,615. 2.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Matson by 5.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,984,076 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $447,810,000 after buying an additional 215,452 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Matson by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,658,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $291,386,000 after acquiring an additional 43,846 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Matson by 4.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 911,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $119,422,000 after purchasing an additional 36,901 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 52.1% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,680,000 after purchasing an additional 122,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 293,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,131,000 after purchasing an additional 59,652 shares in the last quarter. 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.