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

Shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.60.

Several brokerages have recently commented on KMT. Jefferies Financial Group cut Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays set a $25.00 target price on Kennametal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Kennametal stock opened at $21.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.69. Kennametal has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $32.18.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kennametal will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is 65.57%.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In related news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMT. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Kennametal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Kennametal by 120.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kennametal by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Kennametal by 214.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 801.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period.

About Kennametal

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.