Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 227,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 40,729 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Tennant were worth $18,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in Tennant by 181.2% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 58,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 37,656 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Tennant by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its position in shares of Tennant by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 12,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tennant in the 4th quarter valued at $1,083,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Tennant by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. 93.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Tennant Trading Up 1.0%

TNC opened at $76.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.13 and its 200-day moving average is $82.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 1.07. Tennant has a 52-week low of $67.32 and a 52-week high of $110.45.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $290.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.63 million. Tennant had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 6.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Tennant will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tennant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.96%.

Tennant declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total value of $617,701.74. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total transaction of $148,383.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,262.18. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Tennant Company 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.