Matson (NYSE:MATX) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Matson Trading Up 1.6 %

Matson stock opened at $143.63 on Wednesday. Matson has a 1 year low of $100.50 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.41 and its 200-day moving average is $141.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, equities analysts expect that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 11.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 142.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 6,080 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 78.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 10,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Matson by 7.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. 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.