Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Matson (NYSE:MATX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MATX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.00.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $174.53 on Wednesday. Matson has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $180.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.10.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 13.30%.The business had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $847.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 8,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.13, for a total value of $1,429,216.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,943,593.94. This represents a 26.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total value of $2,150,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,067.34. This represents a 28.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,034,602. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 158.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,279,000. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 47.9% in the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 920 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Company Profile

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.