Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Nov 5th, 2026

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Stephens from $270.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stephens‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.15% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MATX. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Matson from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Freedom Broker began coverage on Matson in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Matson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.25.

Get Our Latest Report on Matson

Matson Stock Up 6.6%

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $225.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson has a fifty-two week low of $101.98 and a fifty-two week high of $240.87.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.69. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Matson will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,359,574.10. This trade represents a 16.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $208,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,462 shares of company stock worth $2,695,832. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 247.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,101,000 after buying an additional 15,189 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,072,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 112,722 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,669,000 after buying an additional 15,657 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Matson by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,940,000 after buying an additional 22,516 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $11,232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Matson this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat expectations: Matson earned $6.96 per diluted share, versus analyst consensus of $6.27, while revenue reached $1.11 billion against estimates of $1.07 billion. Net income rose to $209.4 million from $134.7 million a year earlier, and revenue increased 26.5%. Matson Q3 results and outlook
Positive Sentiment: Stronger outlook: Matson raised its full-year outlook and expects Q4 operating income to be about 50% higher year over year. Management cited elevated China freight rates, which it expects to persist into early 2027. Matson Q4 outlook
Positive Sentiment: Favorable shipping conditions: Reports point to China service demand, port congestion and e-commerce activity as factors lifting results. Matson also repurchased approximately 0.3 million shares during Q3. Q3 business and demand drivers

About Matson

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Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and supply chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containerized and bulk cargo, automobiles and other goods between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and selected South Pacific destinations. Matson also operates services linking the U.S. West Coast with China, Japan and South Korea.

The company serves a broad range of customers, including retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, government agencies and individual consumers.