Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 199,834 Matson, Inc. $MATX

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 199,834 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,761,000. Matson accounts for about 1.0% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Matson as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the second quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MATX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

Matson Stock Down 2.6%

Matson stock opened at $205.19 on Tuesday. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $230.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.63 and a 200 day moving average of $175.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.28.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 14.16 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.58%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total transaction of $275,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,633.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares in the company, valued at $1,979,206.96. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,963 shares of company stock valued at $4,349,268 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

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.