Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Given New $25.00 Price Target at Barclays

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Barclays from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on KMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Shares of KMT traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.99. 404,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 630,107. Kennametal has a 52 week low of $22.08 and a 52 week high of $30.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 5.86%. The business had revenue of $515.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kennametal will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Kennametal declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $25,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,313.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Kennametal during the first quarter worth $256,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kennametal by 6.2% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Kennametal in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Kennametal by 1.5% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 45,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Kennametal by 139.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,901 shares in 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.