Matson (NYSE:MATX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $100.07 and last traded at $101.19, with a volume of 11459 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.50.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% 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.