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

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 564,500 shares, a growth of 27.2% from the August 31st total of 443,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 314,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Matson Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MATX stock traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $143.80. The company had a trading volume of 60,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,318. Matson has a 12 month low of $82.68 and a 12 month high of $144.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.56. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. Matson had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $847.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $861.68 million. On average, research analysts expect that Matson will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their price target on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.37, for a total transaction of $1,000,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,727,772.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total value of $215,796.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,352.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.37, for a total value of $1,000,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,727,772.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,592 shares of company stock valued at $11,389,694 in the last ninety days. 2.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at approximately $759,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Matson by 98.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,906 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,420 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 57.8% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 101,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 37,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Matson by 1.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,923 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 126.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,448,000 after acquiring an additional 134,092 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.