Key Points
- Insider sale: EVP John Lauer sold 8,603 Matson shares at an average of $166.13 on March 5 for about $1.43 million, trimming his stake by 26.6% to 23,738 shares (worth ≈$3.94 million).
- Strong quarterly results: Matson reported $4.60 EPS (vs. $3.69 est.) and $851.9M revenue on Feb. 24, with a 13.3% net margin and revenue down 4.3% year-over-year.
- Dividend and market stance: Matson paid a $0.36 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.44, yield 0.9%) and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with an average target of $156.25 (stock recently trading around $153, 1‑yr range $86.97–$177.51).
Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) EVP John Lauer sold 8,603 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.13, for a total transaction of $1,429,216.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,943,593.94. The trade was a 26.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Matson Stock Performance
MATX opened at $152.94 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $177.51. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $152.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.
Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $847.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Matson Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is 10.33%.
Institutional Trading of Matson
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Matson by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 127,208 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,541,000 after acquiring an additional 34,631 shares during the last quarter. Paradiem LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 27.9% during the third quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 102,721 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,393 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Matson during the third quarter worth about $740,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter worth about $377,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 2.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MATX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $156.25.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Matson
About Matson
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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