Short Interest in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Drops By 23.2%
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemMatson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,221,200 shares, a drop of 23.2% from the December 15th total of 1,589,963 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 361,962 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 361,962 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have commented on MATX shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.00.
Read Our Latest Report on Matson
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Matson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,456 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 79,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,868,000 after purchasing an additional 39,370 shares in the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 39,717 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,907,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Matson by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,077 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.
Matson Price Performance
MATX stock traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $146.48. 397,519 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,383. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.33. Matson has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $154.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.27 and a 200-day moving average of $109.34.
Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.99. The company had revenue of $880.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $837.72 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 12.70%.The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Matson will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Matson Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.96%.
About Matson
Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.
In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.