Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 5,680,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 898,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In related news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This represents a 34.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at $48,192.70. This trade represents a 51.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Kennametal by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Kennametal by 14.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Kennametal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Kennametal by 198.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Kennametal by 120.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Kennametal stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.41. 220,849 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,223. Kennametal has a 12-month low of $22.50 and a 12-month high of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.67.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Kennametal had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The company 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 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Kennametal will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMT. StockNews.com raised shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.67.

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.