Matson (NYSE:MATX) Director Sells $289,868.90 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Director Bradley Tilden sold 1,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $289,868.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,876.75. This trade represents a 17.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Matson Trading Down 0.5%

Matson stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $181.83. The stock had a trading volume of 154,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,114. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.30. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $189.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.66.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MATX. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the third quarter worth about $740,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 2.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,300,000 after acquiring an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in Matson by 2,944.7% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 57,850 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after acquiring an additional 55,950 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 49.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 50,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,987,000 after acquiring an additional 16,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 24.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 67,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,638,000 after acquiring an additional 13,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.25.

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.