Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 898,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days. Approximately 7.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kennametal Price Performance

KMT opened at $24.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Kennametal has a 1 year low of $22.50 and a 1 year high of $32.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kennametal from $24.50 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kennametal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 approximately $48,192.70. This represents a 51.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,117,767.44. The trade was a 34.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennametal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Kennametal by 33.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,251,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,105,000 after buying an additional 1,567,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kennametal by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,683,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,248,000 after purchasing an additional 100,905 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Kennametal by 35.1% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,332,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,798,000 after purchasing an additional 606,477 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $48,292,000 after purchasing an additional 20,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $47,096,000 after purchasing an additional 17,265 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.