Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,170,000 shares, a drop of 20.9% from the February 13th total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 277,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Matson Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE MATX traded down $0.83 on Friday, reaching $128.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,371,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,160. Matson has a 52 week low of $100.50 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The stock's 50 day moving average is $138.05 and its 200-day moving average is $141.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Equities analysts predict that Matson will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,787 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Matson by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,217 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Matson by 142.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,346 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 6,080 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Matson by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 53.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,572 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% 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.