Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bearish: Nine analysts give Kennametal a consensus “Reduce” rating, with four sells, four holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $34.07, while several firms recently lowered targets and issued underweight or neutral ratings.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: Kennametal reported quarterly EPS of $2.96 versus the $2.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 42.6% year over year to $736.61 million. The company guided for fiscal 2027 EPS of $4.15–$5.15.
• Shares trade near $30 despite insider and institutional activity: CEO Sanjay Chowbey purchased 7,000 shares, while a company vice president sold 9,676 shares. BlackRock and several other institutional investors established or increased positions, and Kennametal maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding about 2.7%.

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.0714.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Kennametal from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays downgraded shares of Kennametal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Kennametal from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Kennametal from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey bought 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.10 per share, for a total transaction of $203,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 246,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,183,014.90. The trade was a 2.92% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Judith L. Bacchus sold 9,676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $293,086.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $476,189.09. The trade was a 38.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Kennametal in the 2nd quarter worth about $440,446,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Kennametal by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,298,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,039,000 after buying an additional 307,209 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the second quarter valued at about $69,614,000. Medina Value Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kennametal during the second quarter valued at about $43,007,296. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kennametal in the second quarter worth about $36,202,000.

Kennametal Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of KMT stock opened at $29.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.80 and a 200-day moving average of $34.79. Kennametal has a 12-month low of $20.35 and a 12-month high of $43.81.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.65. Kennametal had a return on equity of 24.83% and a net margin of 14.53%.The business had revenue of $736.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Kennametal's revenue for the quarter was up 42.6% on a year-over-year basis. Kennametal has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.500-2.800 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 4.150-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kennametal will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Kennametal's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

About Kennametal

Kennametal Inc NYSE: KMT is an industrial technology company that develops and manufactures tooling, engineered components and wear-resistant solutions for demanding applications. Its products are designed to help customers cut, shape, drill and protect materials used in manufacturing, transportation, energy, infrastructure and other industrial markets.

The company's offerings include carbide and ceramic cutting tools, indexable inserts, solid carbide tooling, toolholding systems and related metal-cutting products.

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