Zacks Research Downgrades Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) to Strong Sell

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Matthews International in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matthews International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, Matthews International presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Matthews International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MATW opened at $23.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $733.43 million, a P/E ratio of -25.27 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Matthews International has a 52 week low of $21.95 and a 52 week high of $30.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.53.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.35). Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.65%.The business had revenue of $246.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.54 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Matthews International will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matthews International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Matthews International by 45.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Potomac Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matthews International in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Matthews International by 187.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 206.5% during the 4th quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Company Profile

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) is a diversified industrial company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company operates through two primary business segments—Brand Solutions and Memorialization—offering a broad range of products and services designed to meet the needs of industrial manufacturers, brand marketers and the funeral industry worldwide.

In its Brand Solutions segment, Matthews International provides engraving and digital printing systems, automated finishing equipment, thermal management products and electronics assembly solutions.