Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on KMT. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Kennametal from $24.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.83.

Kennametal Price Performance

NYSE:KMT opened at $23.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.56. Kennametal has a one year low of $22.50 and a one year high of $32.18.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Kennametal had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The business had revenue of $481.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kennametal will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In other Kennametal news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,192.70. The trade was a 51.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,117,767.44. This trade represents a 34.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kennametal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $804,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Kennametal by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,051,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,292,000 after acquiring an additional 20,634 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kennametal by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,815,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,096,000 after acquiring an additional 17,265 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 113.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 191,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 101,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 95.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 163,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,244,000 after purchasing an additional 79,992 shares during the last quarter.

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.