Matson (NYSE:MATX) Price Target Raised to $175.00

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Stephens from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the shipping company's stock.

MATX has been the subject of several other research reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Matson from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Matson Stock Up 2.3 %

MATX stock traded up $3.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.07. The stock had a trading volume of 291,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,690. Matson has a one year low of $100.50 and a one year high of $169.12. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $139.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

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Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Matson's payout ratio is 9.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

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.