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Should Value Investors Buy Matthews International (MATW) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Matthews International (MATW - Free Report) . MATW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 12.34, while its industry has an average P/E of 19.46. Over the last 12 months, MATW's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.86 and as low as 11.78, with a median of 13.79.

Another notable valuation metric for MATW is its P/B ratio of 1.96. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.87. MATW's P/B has been as high as 2.78 and as low as 1.82, with a median of 2.17, over the past year.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MATW has a P/CF ratio of 9.58. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 10.66. Over the past 52 weeks, MATW's P/CF has been as high as 14.96 and as low as 8.79, with a median of 10.69.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Matthews International's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, MATW looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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