Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kennametal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

Kennametal Stock Up 1.7 %

KMT traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.35. 868,142 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,508. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.58. Kennametal has a fifty-two week low of $22.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $481.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.26 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kennametal will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In related news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This trade represents a 34.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,192.70. This represents a 51.81 % 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

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

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.