Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Acquires 3,334 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,172 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the quarter. Matson comprises 2.9% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned 0.70% of Matson worth $31,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Matson by 67.7% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matson Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MATX traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,895. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.77. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.72 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.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.78 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

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.