StockNews.com Lowers Materion (NYSE:MTRN) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Materion (NYSE:MTRN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

Separately, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Materion from $156.00 to $152.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Materion Stock Performance

MTRN opened at $118.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Materion has a twelve month low of $92.23 and a twelve month high of $145.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.46.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $385.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.84 million. Materion had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.32%. Materion’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Materion will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Materion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Materion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Materion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 1,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $128,862.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,185.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Materion news, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total value of $226,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,031 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,092.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 1,152 shares of Materion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $128,862.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,185.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Materion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTRN. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Materion in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,311,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Materion in the 4th quarter valued at $16,369,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Materion in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,938,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Materion by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 262,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,534,000 after purchasing an additional 60,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Materion in the fourth quarter valued at $5,944,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.56% of the company’s stock.

Materion Company Profile

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other.