Analysts Set Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Price Target at $232.33

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $232.3333.

A number of research firms recently commented on MATX. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total transaction of $275,196.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,633.40. The trade was a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total value of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,301,690.02. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,089 shares of company stock worth $1,975,717 over the last ninety days. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Matson in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $217.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $204.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.27. Matson has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Matson will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.16%.

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.