Key Points
- Matson EVP Peter Heilmann sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $220.15, generating $1.10 million and reducing his holdings by 19.6% to 20,506 shares.
- Matson reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 exceeding estimates of $3.79 and revenue rising 16.7% year over year to $969.4 million.
- The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, while analysts maintained a generally bullish outlook, with an average “Buy” rating and a $232.33 price target.
Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,944.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Matson Stock Down 0.7%
NYSE MATX opened at $216.79 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $206.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $230.74.
Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $893.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Matson Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. 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. Matson's payout ratio is 10.16%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $232.33.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MATX
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $933,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Matson by 7.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,871 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Matson in the second quarter worth approximately $4,357,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Matson Company Profile
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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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