Hodges Capital Management Inc. Invests $3.28 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,279,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MATX. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Matson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,456 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Matson by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,880 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Matson by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,336 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Matson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

Matson Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE MATX opened at $203.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $188.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.21. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $207.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.28.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total transaction of $275,196.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,633.40. The trade was a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $450,475.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,979,206.96. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.