5 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Buy Now

3. Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) is a Hawaiian provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. The company’s Ocean Transportation segment transports refrigerated commodities, building materials, automobiles, household goods, livestock, general sustenance cargo, and other retail merchandise. On June 22, Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) declared a $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, a 3.2% increase from its prior dividend of $0.31. The dividend is distributable on September 7, to shareholders of record as of August 3. It is one of the best marine shipping stocks to buy. 

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 17 hedge funds were bullish on Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX), compared to 24 funds in the prior quarter. Ryan Tolkin’s Schonfeld Strategic Advisors is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 408,827 shares worth $7.73 million.  

Here is what Meridian Funds specifically said about Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) is a US-based ocean and logistics company with a leading position in Pacific shipping that provides a vital lifeline to Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam as well as premium and expedited service from China to the US. Given its unique position and terminal assets, Matson has an unparalleled speed advantage over other ocean transportation companies. This speed advantage has been highly valuable to customers given supply chain disruptions which has helped improve inventory velocity. Although the company recently reported strong quarterly earnings growth, its stock declined on signs of slower shipping demand due to rising inventories within the consumer channel and improving port congestion. Given these dynamics, overall container rates have begun to recede from the robust levels experienced in 2021 but still remain at levels that are nearly 4x that of pre-pandemic levels. Although we expect container rates to continue to normalize, we believe the company’s unique speed advantage and increased service capacity between Asia and the U.S. could help offset some of these headwinds. Matson continues to generate strong free cash flow and has proven to be a strong allocator of capital, including increasing dividend payouts for shareholders and buying back stock. During the period, we trimmed our position in the company.”