Short Interest in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Drops By 21.3%

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the January 31st total of 5,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 925,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In related news, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. The trade was a 34.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Chowbey acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,691.25. This trade represents a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennametal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 120.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Kennametal by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Kennametal by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kennametal by 801.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Kennametal from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kennametal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Kennametal Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of KMT traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.10. 274,572 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,009. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.31. Kennametal has a 12-month low of $20.50 and a 12-month high of $32.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.66.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 4.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kennametal will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.57%.

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.