Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.75.

MATX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday.

Matson Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $125.18 on Friday. Matson has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $154.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $109.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $880.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $837.72 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 12.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is 10.96%.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 61,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,883,000 after acquiring an additional 29,400 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,037,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Matson by 42.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 877 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 190.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,625 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 37.4% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 127,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,541,000 after purchasing an additional 34,631 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.