Tennant (NYSE:TNC) Position Boosted by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC - Free Report) by 91.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 44,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.49% of Tennant worth $7,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TNC. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Tennant by 77.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 30,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Tennant by 222.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,151 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 27,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Tennant by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 436,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,971,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Tennant by 1.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,908 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Tennant by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 48,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 23,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Tennant from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Tennant Price Performance

Shares of Tennant stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.66. 16,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,691. Tennant has a fifty-two week low of $67.57 and a fifty-two week high of $119.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $328.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.00 million. Tennant had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities analysts expect that Tennant will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Tennant's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.94%.

Tennant declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total transaction of $617,701.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,256,936.60. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total value of $148,383.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,262.18. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Tennant Profile

Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a suite of products, including floor maintenance and cleaning equipment, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, equipment maintenance and repair services, and asset management solutions.