Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.52 and traded as high as $27.41. Matthews International shares last traded at $27.00, with a volume of 388,979 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Matthews International Stock Up 2.9%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $841.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $258.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $253.65 million. Matthews International had a net margin of 0.80% and a return on equity of 5.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Matthews International Corporation will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Matthews International’s payout ratio is presently 329.03%.

Institutional Trading of Matthews International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $287,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Matthews International by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Matthews International by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 233,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after buying an additional 26,572 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 83,860 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in Matthews International by 2.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 58,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Matthews International

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.