Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.45, but opened at $19.10. Matthews International shares last traded at $19.82, with a volume of 44,031 shares traded.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.02). Matthews International had a negative net margin of 3.48% and a positive return on equity of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $427.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $435.62 million.

Matthews International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -50.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matthews International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Matthews International by 375.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 41,711 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Matthews International by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 6,514 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Matthews International during the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matthews International by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 781,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,126,000 after buying an additional 73,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Matthews International by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,566,000 after buying an additional 2,921 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $613.81 million, a PE ratio of -10.06 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.26.

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.