Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Shares Sold by Azarias Capital Management L.P.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 195,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49,290 shares during the quarter. Kennametal comprises 2.1% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Kennametal were worth $4,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kennametal during the second quarter worth $451,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Kennametal by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 5,202 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Kennametal by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period.

Kennametal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMT opened at $22.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.44 and a 200 day moving average of $25.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.66. Kennametal Inc. has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $32.18.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 4.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Kennametal’s payout ratio is currently 65.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on KMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America cut shares of Kennametal from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at $48,192.70. This represents a 51.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Kennametal Profile

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.