Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Shares Pass Below 50-Day Moving Average of $24.46

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.46 and traded as low as $23.58. Kennametal shares last traded at $23.86, with a volume of 804,964 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Kennametal in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.58.

Kennametal Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.42 and a 200 day moving average of $24.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.05. Kennametal had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $495.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Kennametal’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.33%.

Kennametal declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Kennametal

In other 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at $34,313.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kennametal during the second quarter worth $32,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Kennametal by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 191.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter.

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.