Matthews International (MATW) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, MATW or HI?

Matthews International has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hillenbrand has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MATW or HI a better dividend stock?

Matthews International pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Hillenbrand pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Matthews International pays out -47.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hillenbrand pays out -360.0% 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. Matthews International has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years and Hillenbrand has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years. Matthews International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation and earnings, MATW or HI?

Matthews International has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Matthews International	$1.80B	0.42	-$59.66M	-$2.12	-11.44
Hillenbrand	$3.18B	0.57	-$211M	-$0.25	-102.54

Does the media favor MATW or HI?

In the previous week, Hillenbrand had 9 more articles in the media than Matthews International. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Hillenbrand and 15 mentions for Matthews International. Hillenbrand's average media sentiment score of 0.32 beat Matthews International's score of -0.11 indicating that Hillenbrand is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Matthews International	0 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Hillenbrand	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	16 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate MATW or HI?

Matthews International presently has a consensus target price of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.95%. Hillenbrand has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.83%. Given Matthews International's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Matthews International is more favorable than Hillenbrand.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matthews International	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Hillenbrand	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MATW or HI?

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

Is MATW or HI 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
Matthews International	-4.01%	9.15%	2.27%
Hillenbrand	-0.63%	13.53%	3.82%

Summary

Hillenbrand beats Matthews International on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.