Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Short Interest Update

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the January 31st total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 265,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $135.29. 36,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,028. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.05. Matson has a one year low of $100.50 and a one year high of $169.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.46.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Equities analysts expect that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MATX. Wolfe Research cut shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stephens raised their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 51.8% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 1,661.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.