Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $29.47, but opened at $27.09. Matthews International shares last traded at $27.36, with a volume of 138,491 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.12). Matthews International had a negative net margin of 3.32% and a positive return on equity of 13.69%.

Matthews International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Matthews International’s payout ratio is -51.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,208,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,037,000 after acquiring an additional 76,911 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Matthews International by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 781,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,126,000 after purchasing an additional 73,240 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Matthews International by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 729,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,929,000 after purchasing an additional 6,536 shares in the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 18.2% in the third quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 455,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,556,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Matthews International by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 375,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,404,000 after buying an additional 34,064 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Stock Down 9.8 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.17 and a 200-day moving average of $26.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $823.21 million, a P/E ratio of -13.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Matthews International Company Profile

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.