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

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.67.

Several research firms have commented on KMT. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Kennametal Price Performance

NYSE KMT opened at $24.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.67. Kennametal has a 52-week low of $22.50 and a 52-week high of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.58.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $481.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.26 million. Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 4.98%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kennametal will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,117,767.44. This represents a 34.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at $48,192.70. The trade was a 51.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Kennametal during the third quarter valued at approximately $804,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 20,634 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,815,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,096,000 after purchasing an additional 17,265 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 101,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Kennametal by 95.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 163,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,244,000 after buying an additional 79,992 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.