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 businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and media sentiment.

Is HI or MATW a better dividend stock?

Hillenbrand pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Matthews International pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Hillenbrand pays out -23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Matthews International pays out -39.2% 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 increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years and Matthews International has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of 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 stronger earnings and valuation, HI or MATW?

Matthews International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hillenbrand. Matthews International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hillenbrand, 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	0.50	-$211M	-$3.81	-5.91
Matthews International	$1.80B	0.44	-$59.66M	-$2.55	-10.04

Do analysts rate HI or MATW?

Hillenbrand presently has a consensus target price of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.06%. Matthews International has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 56.19%. 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)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Matthews International	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media favor HI or MATW?

In the previous week, Matthews International had 3 more articles in the media than Hillenbrand. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Matthews International and 3 mentions for Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand's average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat Matthews International's score of 0.71 indicating that Hillenbrand is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Is HI or MATW more profitable?

Matthews International has a net margin of -4.62% compared to Hillenbrand's net margin of -8.82%. Hillenbrand's return on equity of 15.03% beat Matthews International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hillenbrand	-8.82%	15.03%	4.19%
Matthews International	-4.62%	11.04%	2.66%

Which has more volatility and risk, HI or MATW?

Hillenbrand has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% 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.

Summary

Matthews International beats Hillenbrand on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.