Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $19.96 and last traded at $20.00, with a volume of 251745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Kennametal from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.40.

Kennametal Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 8.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,691.25. This represents a 14.79 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KMT. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Kennametal in the 4th quarter worth about $962,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Kennametal by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after buying an additional 41,163 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kennametal by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 640,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,377,000 after buying an additional 8,753 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new stake in Kennametal in the 4th quarter valued at $410,000.

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.