Matson (NYSE:MATX) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

14 Apr 2024, 04:22 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Matson

Matson Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MATX opened at $110.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Matson has a 52 week low of $61.27 and a 52 week high of $122.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.50 and its 200-day moving average is $103.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. Matson had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The company had revenue of $788.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Matson’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Matson will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Matson’s payout ratio is 15.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,261.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $1,958,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Matson by 105.0% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,316,000 after buying an additional 19,149 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Matson by 317.4% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 24,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 18,830 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Matson by 25.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,648 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after buying an additional 12,285 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Matson by 178.9% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 9,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 5,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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