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

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $232.3333.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MATX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ku‘uhaku Park sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $208,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth $17,276,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Matson by 12.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,940,000 after acquiring an additional 22,516 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 887.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,441,000 after acquiring an additional 51,752 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,398,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $227.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $213.74 and a 200-day moving average of $189.29.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend 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 currently 10.16%.

About Matson

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.