Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Kennametal (NYSE:KMT)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 3,696 Kennametal call options, roughly 2,833% above the typical daily volume of 126 contracts.
• Strong quarterly performance: Kennametal reported $2.96 in quarterly EPS, beating estimates by $0.65, while revenue rose 42.6% year over year to $736.61 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Despite a recent “strong-buy” upgrade from Zacks Research, the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with an average price target of $34.07 versus its recent price of $31.54.

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 3,696 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,833% compared to the typical daily volume of 126 call options.

Kennametal Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE KMT traded up $0.51 on Monday, reaching $31.54. The company had a trading volume of 290,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,818. The company's fifty day moving average is $31.37 and its 200-day moving average is $34.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.62. Kennametal has a 1-year low of $20.38 and a 1-year high of $43.81.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $736.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.74 million. Kennametal had a return on equity of 24.83% and a net margin of 14.53%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 42.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Kennametal has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.500-2.800 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 4.150-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kennametal will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Kennametal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sanjay Chowbey acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.10 per share, for a total transaction of $203,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 246,839 shares in the company, valued at $7,183,014.90. This trade represents a 2.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Judith L. Bacchus sold 9,676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $293,086.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.65% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMT. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Kennametal during the second quarter worth $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 9.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,376 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 3,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 999 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Kennametal in the second quarter valued at about $37,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kennametal from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Kennametal from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Kennametal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Kennametal in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Kennametal from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $34.07.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.