Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its price objective lifted by Stephens from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research lowered Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $149.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.05. Matson has a twelve month low of $100.50 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.46 and a 200 day moving average of $141.01.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Matson in the third quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other 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.