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

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

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

Kennametal Price Performance

KMT opened at $23.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.32. Kennametal has a 12-month low of $22.08 and a 12-month high of $30.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.78.

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

Kennametal announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kennametal news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $25,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,313.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennametal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Kennametal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,026,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $517,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 946.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 81,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 73,533 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 5,037 shares in the last quarter.

Kennametal Company Profile

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.