Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Short Interest Up 58.0% in May

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 4,468,649 shares, an increase of 58.0% from the May 14th total of 2,828,653 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,474,998 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 5.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Kennametal Stock Up 3.4%

KMT stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.75. The stock had a trading volume of 378,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,435,921. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Kennametal has a 1-year low of $17.62 and a 1-year high of $43.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.52 and a 200 day moving average of $34.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.37.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Kennametal had a return on equity of 11.02% and a net margin of 6.41%.The company had revenue of $592.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kennametal has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-4.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kennametal will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sagar A. Patel sold 29,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total transaction of $988,216.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Judith L. Bacchus sold 5,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $197,238.72. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,554 shares in the company, valued at $163,670.76. The trade was a 54.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 47,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,583,326 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 3,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Kennametal during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Kennametal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered Kennametal from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Kennametal in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kennametal from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kennametal currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $35.69.

Kennametal Company Profile

Kennametal Inc is a global industrial technology company that designs and manufactures advanced materials, tooling systems, and engineered components for a range of demanding applications. Its solutions support precision metalworking, earthmoving, and wear-resistant environments, catering to customers seeking enhanced productivity, longer tool life, and reduced operating costs.

The company’s product portfolio spans indexable cutting tools, solid round tools, tool holders, metalworking fluid systems, wear parts, ceramics and composites, and custom-engineered components.