Dean Capital Management Increases Holdings in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

Dean Capital Management lifted its position in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 44.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 31,639 shares during the period. Kennametal makes up about 1.1% of Dean Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Dean Capital Management owned approximately 0.13% of Kennametal worth $2,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 716 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kennametal by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Kennametal by 214.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 801.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Kennametal from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.20.

Kennametal Price Performance

Shares of Kennametal stock opened at $19.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Kennametal Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.30 and a 52 week high of $32.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kennametal had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 8.12%. As a group, analysts expect that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.57%.

Insider Transactions at Kennametal

In related news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $217,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,691.25. This represents a 14.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.