Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $138.69 and traded as high as $143.16. Matson shares last traded at $141.04, with a volume of 196,360 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Matson from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Matson Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Matson's revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rusty K. Rolfe sold 3,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.97, for a total transaction of $497,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,929.87. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $877,393.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,350,086.72. This represents a 14.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,646 shares of company stock valued at $1,578,768. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,217 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Matson by 6.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,663 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 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.