Matson (NYSE:MATX) Lowered to “Peer Perform” Rating by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports.

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

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $152.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.06. Matson has a 1-year low of $93.75 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.18.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Matson will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 215,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,546,006.49. This trade represents a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.50, for a total transaction of $124,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,109,297.50. The trade was a 5.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,645 shares of company stock worth $3,677,960. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4,167,726.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 958,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $136,716,000 after purchasing an additional 958,577 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Matson by 5.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,984,076 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $447,810,000 after buying an additional 215,452 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 126.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,448,000 after acquiring an additional 134,092 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Matson by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,680,000 after acquiring an additional 122,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Matson by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,445,000 after purchasing an additional 77,731 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.