Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $165.06 and last traded at $165.00, with a volume of 2917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Matson Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 1.06.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $965.73 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.31%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total transaction of $215,796.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,352.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total transaction of $215,796.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,352.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at $1,274,776.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,864 shares of company stock worth $3,716,059. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 5.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,984,076 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $447,810,000 after purchasing an additional 215,452 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 911,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $119,422,000 after buying an additional 36,901 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,680,000 after acquiring an additional 122,017 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Matson by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 282,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,783,000 after acquiring an additional 43,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 126.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,448,000 after acquiring an additional 134,092 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Matson

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.