Matson (NYSE:MATX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $145.00 and last traded at $143.87, with a volume of 9810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.59.

The shipping company reported $5.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. Matson had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.40 earnings per share.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MATX. Stephens raised their target price on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $1,293,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,356 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,115.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $1,293,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,115.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $135,730.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,274,776.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,712 shares of company stock worth $4,149,098. 2.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MATX. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Matson by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,322 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Matson by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,575 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Matson by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 282,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,783,000 after purchasing an additional 43,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the 1st quarter valued at $182,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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.