Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Reaches New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $31.27 and last traded at $31.15, with a volume of 150704 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.58.

The industrial products company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 5.34%. The company had revenue of $481.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Kennametal’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is 58.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on KMT shares. Barclays increased their target price on Kennametal from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 18th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Kennametal from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.60.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Kennametal by 198.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 98.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter.

Kennametal Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.61 and its 200-day moving average is $24.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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.