Matthews International (MATW) Competitors

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) and Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) are both small-cap specialized consumer services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and risk.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, HI or MATW?

Matthews International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Matthews International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hillenbrand	$3.18B	0.55	-$211M	-$0.25	-98.91
Matthews International	$1.80B	0.44	-$59.66M	-$2.12	-12.11

Do institutionals & insiders believe in HI or MATW?

89.1% of Hillenbrand shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Matthews International shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Hillenbrand shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Matthews International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, HI or MATW?

Hillenbrand has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Matthews International has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HI or MATW more profitable?

Hillenbrand has a net margin of -0.63% compared to Matthews International's net margin of -4.01%. Hillenbrand's return on equity of 13.53% beat Matthews International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hillenbrand	-0.63%	13.53%	3.82%
Matthews International	-4.01%	9.15%	2.27%

Does the media refer more to HI or MATW?

In the previous week, Hillenbrand had 3 more articles in the media than Matthews International. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Hillenbrand and 1 mentions for Matthews International. Matthews International's average media sentiment score of 1.80 beat Hillenbrand's score of 0.57 indicating that Matthews International is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Hillenbrand	Positive
Matthews International	Very Positive

Is HI or MATW a better dividend stock?

Hillenbrand pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Matthews International pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Hillenbrand pays out -360.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Matthews International pays out -47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hillenbrand has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years and Matthews International has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Matthews International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend HI or MATW?

Hillenbrand presently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.41%. Matthews International has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 55.76%. Given Matthews International's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Matthews International is more favorable than Hillenbrand.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hillenbrand	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Matthews International	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Hillenbrand beats Matthews International on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.