Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KMT. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kennametal in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kennametal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.58.

Kennametal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KMT stock opened at $23.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.78. Kennametal has a twelve month low of $22.08 and a twelve month high of $30.60.

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

Kennametal announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kennametal news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 191.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000.

Kennametal Company Profile

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.