Matson (NYSE:MATX) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $165.06 and last traded at $165.00, with a volume of 2917 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

Matson Stock Up 4.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.73 and a 200 day moving average of $128.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.31%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total transaction of $215,796.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,065,352.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total value of $215,796.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,352.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,028,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 215,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,546,006.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,712 shares of company stock valued at $2,855,398. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Matson by 35.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 18.1% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 282,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,783,000 after acquiring an additional 43,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at approximately $182,000. 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.