Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,170,000 shares, a decrease of 20.9% from the February 13th total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 277,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Matson Trading Down 1.3 %

Matson stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.20. 321,127 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,137. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.18. Matson has a 12-month low of $100.50 and a 12-month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Research analysts expect that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.69%.

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.