Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 657,224 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 218% from the previous session’s volume of 206,990 shares.The stock last traded at $26.5850 and had previously closed at $26.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Matthews International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matthews International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Matthews International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Matthews International Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $814.37 million, a PE ratio of 84.19 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.35.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.20. Matthews International had a net margin of 0.80% and a return on equity of 5.88%. The firm had revenue of $258.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.65 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Matthews International Corporation will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Matthews International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 329.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MATW. Steel Partners Holdings L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the 4th quarter worth $20,084,000. Private Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Matthews International by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,605,000 after purchasing an additional 680,256 shares in the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Matthews International in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,763,000. Cannell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Matthews International in the second quarter valued at about $5,926,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Matthews International in the fourth quarter worth about $5,242,000. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.