Vestcor Inc Sells 29,167 Shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Vestcor Inc lowered its position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 83.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,167 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Tennant were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TNC. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tennant by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 6,179 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Tennant by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Tennant by 190.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Tennant by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 55,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Tennant in the 4th quarter worth about $5,830,000. Institutional investors own 93.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tennant

In other Tennant news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total value of $617,701.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,256,936.60. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total transaction of $148,383.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,262.18. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Tennant Price Performance

NYSE TNC opened at $84.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $85.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.77. Tennant has a 52-week low of $78.57 and a 52-week high of $124.11. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.13. Tennant had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The firm had revenue of $328.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.00 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Tennant will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tennant announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TNC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Tennant in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock.

About Tennant

Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a suite of products, including floor maintenance and cleaning equipment, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, equipment maintenance and repair services, and asset management solutions.