Is Matson A Great Stock For Value Investors?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Matson has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 17.42, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.04. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Matson’s current PE ratio below its midpoint over the past five years, with the number having risen rapidly over the past few months.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the broader industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 24.94. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Matson has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 18.10, which is tad higher than the current level. So it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Matson has a P/S ratio of about 0.65. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 2.69 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, MATX is near the lower end of its range in the time period from a P/S metric, suggesting some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Matson currently has a Value Style Score of ‘A’, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Matson a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Matson might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of ‘A’ and a Momentum score of ‘B’. This gives MATX a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of ‘A’. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been favorable. The current quarter has seen four estimates go higher in the past sixty days, while the full year estimate has seen three up.

This has had just a small impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has risen by 13% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased by 3.7%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Matson, Inc. Price and Consensus

This positive trend signifies bullish analyst sentiment, and its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates robust fundamentals and expectations of outperformance in the near term.

Bottom Line

Matson is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Furthermore, a strong industry rank (among Top 33% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #2 instills our confidence on the stock.

However, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

We believe, despite an unsatisfactory past industry performance, a good industry and Zacks rank signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in Matson.

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