Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Matthews International has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a potential stabilization in its market outlook.
• The company reported $0.28 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33, while its revenue exceeded expectations at $349.40 million.
• Institutional investors have shown increased confidence in the company, with several, such as Ameriprise Financial and Boston Partners, boosting their positions in Matthews International recently.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Matthews International Stock Down 0.8%

MATW traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.39. 190,103 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,244. The stock has a market cap of $720.20 million, a P/E ratio of -11.03 and a beta of 1.24. Matthews International has a twelve month low of $18.50 and a twelve month high of $32.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 9.15% and a negative net margin of 4.01%. The firm had revenue of $349.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.95 million. Equities analysts expect that Matthews International will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matthews International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MATW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 73,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 23,492 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 19,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,217 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 1,718.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 85,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 80,952 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 551.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 906 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.