Matson (NYSE:MATX) Cut to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MATX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Stephens lifted 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.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $151.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.64 and a 200 day moving average of $132.04. Matson has a one year low of $93.75 and a one year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $965.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.31%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Jason Lee Taylor sold 1,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $135,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,274,776.16. The trade was a 9.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,028,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 215,397 shares in the company, valued at $29,546,006.49. This trade represents a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,645 shares of company stock valued at $3,677,960. 2.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Matson in the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 226.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 595 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.