Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Position Lessened by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 94.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 68,305 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Kennametal were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kennametal by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 154,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Kennametal by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Kennametal by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 396.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 36,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 28,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 40.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 97,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 28,069 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $25,550.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,313.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Kennametal Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE KMT opened at $24.50 on Friday. Kennametal Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.08 and a 12 month high of $30.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

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

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.