Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.10, but opened at $28.00. Matthews International shares last traded at $30.15, with a volume of 46,443 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley decreased their price target on Matthews International from $54.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th.

Matthews International Trading Up 12.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $930.30 million, a P/E ratio of -15.75 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.52.

Matthews International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Matthews International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -51.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matthews International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MATW. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matthews International in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,793,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,208,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,037,000 after buying an additional 76,911 shares during the period. Barington Capital Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Matthews International by 18.2% in the third quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 455,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,437,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Matthews International by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 708,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,434,000 after purchasing an additional 55,687 shares during the period. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matthews International Company Profile

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.