Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Matthews International in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matthews International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Matthews International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matthews International presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Matthews International Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MATW opened at $19.31 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.47 and its 200-day moving average is $24.91. The firm has a market cap of $602.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.76. Matthews International has a 52-week low of $18.54 and a 52-week high of $30.93.

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

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Matthews International’s payout ratio is currently -109.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J Nauman acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $45,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,081 shares in the company, valued at $162,650.57. This represents a 39.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aleta W. Richards bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.06 per share, with a total value of $69,180.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 12,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,057.10. The trade was a 31.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 8,900 shares of company stock worth $197,914 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Matthews International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATW. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Matthews International by 5.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,614,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,677,000 after acquiring an additional 83,860 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 2.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,100,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,832,000 after acquiring an additional 25,478 shares in the last quarter. Barington Companies Management LLC raised its position in shares of Matthews International by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Barington Companies Management LLC now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,120,000 after purchasing an additional 87,196 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 233,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 26,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 4,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Company Profile

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ: MATW) is a global manufacturer and provider of products, technologies and services for the memorialization, industrial technology and brand experience markets. Founded in 1850 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company serves customers in North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.

Through its Memorialization business, Matthews supplies burial and cremation products and services, including caskets, urns, memorials, cemetery products, architectural features and related technologies.