Matson (NYSE:MATX) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.91 EPS

Matson (NYSE:MATX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $5.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91, Briefing.com reports. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $965.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Matson Stock Up 14.8 %

NYSE:MATX traded up $19.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $153.39. 323,902 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 271,759. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.07 and a 200 day moving average of $126.76. Matson has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $155.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MATX. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $96,072.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,208.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $1,293,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,115.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $96,072.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,208.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,712 shares of company stock valued at $4,149,098 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

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.