Short Interest in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Grows By 7.0%

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 898,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days. Currently, 7.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,765 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $51,802.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,642 shares in the company, valued at $48,192.70. This trade represents a 51.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Franklin Cardenas sold 20,470 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $578,072.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 39,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,117,767.44. This 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Kennametal by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,753 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kennametal by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,512 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Kennametal by 198.9% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 120.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter.

Kennametal Stock Performance

Shares of Kennametal stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,520,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,447. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.61. Kennametal has a 52 week low of $20.50 and a 52 week high of $32.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.66.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. Equities analysts forecast that Kennametal will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid 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 yield of 3.59%. Kennametal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Kennametal from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Kennametal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kennametal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Kennametal from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.67.

Kennametal Company 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.