Matson (NYSE:MATX) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $110.07, but opened at $99.06. Matson shares last traded at $98.48, with a volume of 50,025 shares traded.

The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MATX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $542,759,000 after buying an additional 11,357 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $141,551,000 after purchasing an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Matson by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,590,000 after buying an additional 58,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Matson by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $89,432,000 after buying an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Up 1.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $116.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

About Matson

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.