Materion (NYSE:MTRN) Shares Down 13.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Materion shares fell 13.9% to about $195.78, with trading volume 66% below its average; the article does not identify a specific trigger for the drop.
• Quarterly EPS of $1.93 topped estimates by $0.04, while revenue of $567.3 million missed expectations of $611.4 million. Revenue nevertheless rose 27.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with a $310 average price target, despite recent downgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings. Materion also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.145 per share.

Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report) shares were down 13.9% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $198.78 and last traded at $195.7750. Approximately 93,354 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 278,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MTRN. Zacks Research cut shares of Materion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Materion from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Materion in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $314.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Materion from $237.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Materion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.00.

Materion Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $252.78 and its 200 day moving average is $212.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. Materion had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The company had revenue of $567.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Materion Corporation will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Materion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.1450 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Materion's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Materion news, Director Vinod Khilnani sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.16, for a total transaction of $470,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,626,972.36. The trade was a 15.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Shelly Chadwick sold 1,705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.00, for a total transaction of $499,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,467,078. This represents a 10.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $8,301,958 in the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Materion

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MTRN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Materion in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,032,985,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Materion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,338,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Materion by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 118,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,151,000 after buying an additional 9,441 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Materion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,982,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Materion by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 24,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,560,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the period. 93.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Materion Company Profile

Materion Corporation is an advanced materials company that develops, manufactures and supplies engineered materials for demanding applications. Its product portfolio includes beryllium and beryllium-aluminum alloys, specialty metals, precious-metal and clad materials, thin-film coating materials, optical filters and other precision components.

The company's materials and products are used in aerospace and defense, semiconductor manufacturing, communications, medical technology, energy, automotive and other industrial markets.

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