Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Grows Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 50.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 232,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 77,731 shares during the period. Matson accounts for approximately 4.2% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s holdings in Matson were worth $30,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Matson by 5.8% during the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,089 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 9,585 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $1,580,060.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 126,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,579,754.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,274,776.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total transaction of $1,580,060.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,579,754.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,376 shares of company stock valued at $13,565,120 in the last ninety days. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matson Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $134.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $140.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.16.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.68 million. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. On average, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

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.