Riverwater Partners LLC Buys 9,978 Shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,978 shares during the period. Tennant makes up about 1.2% of Riverwater Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Riverwater Partners LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Tennant worth $2,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Tennant by 77.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 30,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tennant by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 436,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,971,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tennant by 222.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,712 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Tennant by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 25,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Tennant by 190.4% in the fourth 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. 93.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Tennant in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock.

Tennant Price Performance

TNC stock opened at $74.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.59. Tennant has a 1 year low of $71.81 and a 1 year high of $122.92.

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

Tennant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.94%.

Tennant declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of Tennant stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total transaction of $148,383.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,829 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total value of $617,701.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

About Tennant

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.