StockNews.com Downgrades Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

KMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kennametal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.40.

Kennametal Stock Performance

NYSE:KMT opened at $21.32 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.41 and its 200 day moving average is $24.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.53. Kennametal has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $32.18.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 4.76%. Research analysts predict that Kennametal will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s payout ratio is 65.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $217,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,691.25. This trade represents a 14.79 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Kennametal by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,251,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kennametal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,134,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,319,000 after buying an additional 101,159 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,573,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,819,000 after acquiring an additional 78,149 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,543,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,106,000 after acquiring an additional 308,000 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 4th quarter valued at $59,207,000.

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.