Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stock Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,871 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Matson by 495.3% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 381 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Matson by 30.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 0.3%

MATX opened at $105.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.21. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.12 and a 200 day moving average of $110.70.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total value of $114,777.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.05% 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.