Matson (NYSE:MATX) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $91.75 and last traded at $93.00, with a volume of 282018 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.11.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens reduced their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Insider Transactions at Matson

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Up 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.70 and a 200 day moving average of $134.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.96%.

Matson Company Profile

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.