Matson (NYSE:MATX) Given New $111.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Matson (NYSE:MATX) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $109.00 to $111.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Matson from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE:MATX opened at $113.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 0.97. Matson has a 52-week low of $62.71 and a 52-week high of $122.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $108.73 and its 200 day moving average is $105.98.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. Matson had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $722.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Matson will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,261.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Matson by 450.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 239,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,243,000 after acquiring an additional 195,939 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,074,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,295,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 653,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $57,989,000 after acquiring an additional 65,736 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Matson by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 293,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,131,000 after acquiring an additional 59,652 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.