Matson (NYSE:MATX) Sets New 12-Month High at $139.49

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $139.49 and last traded at $138.07, with a volume of 211964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MATX. StockNews.com cut Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Matson Trading Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $131.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $861.68 million. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. As a group, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 8,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,491,175.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 8,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.80, for a total transaction of $1,151,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,329 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,175.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at $1,274,776.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,376 shares of company stock valued at $13,565,120. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.