On June 30, 2023, Matthew Cox, Chairman & CEO of Matson Inc (MATX, Financial), sold 10,000 shares of the company. This move is part of a larger trend, as over the past year, Cox has sold a total of 77,063 shares and purchased none.
Matthew Cox has been with Matson Inc, a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, for over a decade. He has served as Chairman of the Board since 2012 and as CEO since 2012. Under his leadership, Matson has continued to provide a vital lifeline to the economies of Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia, and select South Pacific islands, delivering goods ranging from food and clothing to construction materials, automobiles, and military cargo.
Matson Inc is a public shipping company that provides logistics services through its ocean transportation, domestic and international rail intermodal service, and diversified logistics management services. The company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships, and custom-designed barges.
The insider transaction history for Matson Inc shows a trend towards selling. Over the past year, there have been 2 insider buys and 25 insider sells. This could be an indication of the insiders' confidence in the company's current stock price or future prospects.
On the day of Cox's recent sell, Matson Inc's shares were trading at $77.43, giving the company a market cap of $2.79 billion. The price-earnings ratio is 4.00, significantly lower than the industry median of 13.24 and the company’s historical median price-earnings ratio. This suggests that the stock is undervalued compared to its peers and its own historical performance.
The GuruFocus Value of Matson Inc is $106.53, resulting in a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.73. This indicates that the stock is modestly undervalued.
The GF Value is an intrinsic value estimate developed by GuruFocus. It is calculated based on historical multiples that the stock has traded at, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company’s past returns and growth, and future estimates of business performance from Morningstar analysts.
In conclusion, the recent sell by Matthew Cox, along with the overall trend of insider selling at Matson Inc, may raise some questions for potential investors. However, the company's low price-earnings ratio and its modest undervaluation according to the GF Value suggest that the stock could still be a good investment opportunity.
