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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KMT. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kennametal in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.58.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Shares of KMT stock opened at $24.54 on Tuesday. Kennametal has a fifty-two week low of $22.08 and a fifty-two week high of $30.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.76.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $495.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.99 million. Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kennametal will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $25,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at $34,313.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMT. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 3.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kennametal by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Kennametal by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 167,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Kennametal by 191.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 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.