Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kennametal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Kennametal Price Performance

KMT traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.35. The stock had a trading volume of 868,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,508. Kennametal has a 1 year low of $22.50 and a 1 year high of $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.84 and a 200 day moving average of $25.58. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.67.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $481.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.26 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kennametal will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,192.70. The trade was a 51.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This trade represents a 34.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennametal

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Kennametal in the 3rd quarter worth about $804,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Kennametal by 1.0% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,051,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,292,000 after buying an additional 20,634 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,815,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,096,000 after buying an additional 17,265 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 113.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 191,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 101,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 95.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 163,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,244,000 after buying an additional 79,992 shares during the last quarter.

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.