Tennant (NYSE:TNC) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Tennant shares rose above their 50-day moving average, reaching $69.89 and last trading near $69.07, while remaining below the 200-day average of $75.88.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: the stock has an overall “Hold” rating, with recent downgrades and an average price target of $91.00.
• Tennant exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.40 versus $0.98 expected, although revenue fell short of forecasts. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.325, while insiders purchased 12,500 shares during the quarter.

Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.70 and traded as high as $69.89. Tennant shares last traded at $69.0650, with a volume of 171,716 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TNC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Tennant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Tennant from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Tennant from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

Tennant Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.88.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.42. Tennant had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of $322.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Tennant Company will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tennant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a $0.3250 dividend. This is a boost from Tennant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Tennant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.57%.

Insider Transactions at Tennant

In other Tennant news, Director Timothy R. Morse acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.18 per share, with a total value of $102,270.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $723,662.52. The trade was a 16.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick E. Allen purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.42 per share, with a total value of $208,260.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,032.34. This represents a 155.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 12,500 shares of company stock worth $849,250. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tennant

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tennant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,255,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Tennant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,562,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Tennant by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 706,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $46,905,000 after purchasing an additional 203,802 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Tennant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,178,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Tennant by 8.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 634,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,106,000 after purchasing an additional 49,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.33% of the company's stock.

Tennant Company Profile

Tennant Company is a manufacturer of cleaning equipment and technologies for commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Its product portfolio includes floor scrubbers, sweepers, combination machines, carpet extractors, outdoor cleaning equipment and related vacuum systems. The company also offers cleaning solutions, replacement parts, maintenance programs and other services designed to support facility-management operations.

Tennant develops technology aimed at improving cleaning efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

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