State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Position in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,772 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Kennametal were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 102.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 245,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,114,000 after buying an additional 124,349 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kennametal by 1,070.2% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 124,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,087,000 after purchasing an additional 113,465 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 211,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,273,000 after purchasing an additional 82,060 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Kennametal by 946.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 81,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 73,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kennametal by 541.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 86,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 72,715 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMT. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Kennametal in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Kennametal from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kennametal from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In related news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $25,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,343 shares in the company, valued at $34,313.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Kennametal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMT opened at $24.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.78. Kennametal Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.08 and a 1-year high of $30.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $495.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.99 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kennametal Company 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.