Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Short Interest Down 20.9% in February

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,170,000 shares, a decline of 20.9% from the February 13th total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 277,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % 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 Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $542,759,000 after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Matson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $141,551,000 after acquiring an additional 91,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Matson by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,590,000 after acquiring an additional 58,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Matson by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $89,432,000 after buying an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE:MATX traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $127.20. 321,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,137. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.45 and its 200-day moving average is $141.18. Matson has a twelve month low of $100.50 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

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.