Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.10, but opened at $28.00. Matthews International shares last traded at $30.15, with a volume of 46,443 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Matthews International from $54.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th.

Matthews International Trading Down 4.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $911.63 million, a P/E ratio of -15.44 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.66 and a 200-day moving average of $25.60.

Matthews International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Matthews International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -51.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matthews International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Matthews International by 63.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Matthews International by 7.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Matthews International during the third quarter worth $222,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Matthews International during the 2nd quarter worth about $246,000. 83.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Matthews International

Matthews International Corporation provides brand solutions, memorialization products, and industrial technologies worldwide. It operates through three segments: Memorialization, Industrial Technologies, and SGK Brand Solutions. The Memorialization segment provides bronze and granite memorials, upright granite memorials and monuments, concrete burial vaults, cremation memorialization products, granite benches, flower vases, crypt plates and letters, cremation urns, niche units, cemetery features, and statues, as well as bronze plaques, letters, emblems, vases, lights and photo ceramics, granite monuments, mausoleums, crypts, and flush memorials.