This Metric Says You Are Smart to Buy Matthews International Corp (MATW)

What’s a smart Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW) investor to do?

At the moment, there are many methods market participants can use to track Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as crucial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the stock market universe. There are a variety of incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, we’re going to study the recent info about Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW).

What have hedge funds been doing with Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW)?

At Q2’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 33% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management had the biggest position in Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW), worth close to $24.3 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by John W. Rogers of Ariel Investments, with a $12.3 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

Consequently, particular hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, established the most outsized position in Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW). Pzena Investment Management had 24.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments also made a $12.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MATW positions are David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW). These stocks are Sims Metal Management Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:SMS), Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI), Haynes International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAYN), Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCHN), and AZZ Incorporated (NYSE:AZZ). All of these stocks are in the metal fabrication industry and their market caps are similar to MATW’s market cap.