Materion (NYSE:MTRN) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $115.02, but opened at $109.10. Materion shares last traded at $109.17, with a volume of 20,343 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.02). Materion had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $385.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Materion’s quarterly revenue was down 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Materion from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Materion news, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 2,000 shares of Materion stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $265,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,147 shares in the company, valued at $1,743,292.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.74, for a total value of $401,220.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,567.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $265,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,743,292.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Materion

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Materion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,311,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Materion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,614,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Materion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,369,000. Trigran Investments Inc. raised its stake in Materion by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 675,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,819,000 after buying an additional 86,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of Materion during the 4th quarter valued at $5,944,000. 93.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Materion Trading Down 3.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.47.

About Materion

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.