Materion (NYSE:MTRN) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Materion (NYSE:MTRN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MTRN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Materion in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Materion from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.00.

Materion Trading Down 4.1%

MTRN opened at $144.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.17 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.13. Materion has a 1-year low of $69.10 and a 1-year high of $172.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Materion had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 4.19%.The business had revenue of $489.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $448.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Materion has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Materion will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Materion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Materion’s payout ratio is presently 15.60%.

Insider Activity at Materion

In other news, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 8,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.13, for a total transaction of $1,311,662.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,392.07. This trade represents a 35.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 4,517 shares of Materion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.32, for a total value of $710,614.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,907.60. The trade was a 43.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 49,549 shares of company stock valued at $7,548,444 over the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Materion

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Materion by 1,607.7% during the third quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Materion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Materion by 182.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Materion in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Materion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 93.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Materion Company Profile

Materion Corporation (NYSE: MTRN) is a global supplier of advanced materials and precision-engineered solutions. The company develops and manufactures high-performance alloys, engineered clad and composite materials, precision thin film products, and advanced optical and electronic materials. Materion’s offerings address critical performance requirements for industries where material properties such as strength, wear resistance, conductivity and optical clarity are paramount.

Materion’s core businesses include beryllium and beryllium composites for aerospace and defense platforms, nickel- and copper-based specialty alloys for industrial and medical applications, optical coatings and substrates for scientific instrumentation, and electronic materials used in semiconductor production.