Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KMT. StockNews.com upgraded Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Kennametal from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This trade represents a 34.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 77,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,691.25. This represents a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMT. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kennametal in the fourth quarter valued at $59,207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Kennametal by 33.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,251,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,105,000 after buying an additional 1,567,867 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Kennametal in the third quarter valued at $10,295,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Kennametal by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,543,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,106,000 after buying an additional 308,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kennametal in the fourth quarter valued at $5,543,000.

Kennametal Price Performance

KMT stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.66. Kennametal has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.34.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 4.76%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kennametal will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s payout ratio is currently 65.57%.

Kennametal Company Profile

Kennametal Inc engages in development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, and super-hard materials and solutions for use in metal cutting and extreme wear applications to enable customers work against corrosion and high temperatures conditions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Metal Cutting and Infrastructure.