Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its stake in Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,253 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Tennant were worth $4,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Tennant by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Tennant by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 6,179 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Tennant by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Tennant by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Tennant by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 55,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TNC shares. StockNews.com lowered Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Tennant in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Tennant Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE TNC opened at $81.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 1.02. Tennant has a 52-week low of $78.57 and a 52-week high of $124.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.33.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $328.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.00 million. Tennant had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 6.51%. Equities research analysts expect that Tennant will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Tennant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.94%.

Tennant announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.