MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Tennant were worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Tennant by 668.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Tennant in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Tennant by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Tennant by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Tennant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 93.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tennant Stock Performance

Shares of Tennant stock opened at $71.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.97. Tennant has a 1 year low of $67.32 and a 1 year high of $111.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.26). Tennant had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 6.51%. The firm had revenue of $290.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Tennant will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.94%.

Tennant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total transaction of $617,701.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,256,936.60. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total value of $148,383.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,262.18. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Tennant Profile

Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a suite of products, including floor maintenance and cleaning equipment, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, equipment maintenance and repair services, and asset management solutions.