Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Trading Up 7.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) were up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.15 and last traded at $26.79. Approximately 58,294 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 258,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.97.

Matthews International Trading Up 4.8 %

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 $810.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.27 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.09.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.12). Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 12.42% and a negative net margin of 3.48%. Research analysts anticipate that Matthews International Co. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matthews International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -50.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Matthews International by 375.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 41,711 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Matthews International by 120.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 79,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 43,650 shares during the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. grew its holdings in Matthews International by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 455,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Matthews International by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 708,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,434,000 after acquiring an additional 55,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matthews International by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

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.