Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Kennametal Inc. by 72.6%, selling 1,788,724 shares and now owning only 676,201 shares valued at approximately $14.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors modified their holdings in Kennametal, with Parallel Advisors LLC increasing their stake by 107.6% in the first quarter.
• Kennametal's stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $25.40, while Barclays and Morgan Stanley have raised their respective target prices.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Free Report) by 72.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,788,724 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.87% of Kennametal worth $14,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kennametal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,134,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,319,000 after buying an additional 101,159 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kennametal by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,218,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,552,000 after buying an additional 181,035 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Kennametal by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 993,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,869,000 after buying an additional 63,770 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 640,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,377,000 after purchasing an additional 8,753 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 469,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,270,000 after purchasing an additional 115,718 shares during the period.

Kennametal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMT traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.05. 144,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,013,585. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.40. Kennametal Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $32.18.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.21. Kennametal had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company had revenue of $486.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.30 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Kennametal's revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Kennametal's payout ratio is 57.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kennametal from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kennametal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Kennametal in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kennametal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.40.

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.