Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.97 and last traded at $41.90, with a volume of 1992399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Kennametal from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kennametal from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kennametal from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.67.

Kennametal Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.82.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $529.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.70 million. Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 5.43%.Kennametal’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Kennametal has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.600 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.450 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kennametal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Kennametal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 5,060 shares of Kennametal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.29, for a total value of $193,747.40. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,565.86. The trade was a 75.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kennametal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMT. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Kennametal by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 8,154,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,219,000 after buying an additional 3,238,093 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Kennametal by 44.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,221,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,624 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Kennametal by 63.2% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,381,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,716,000 after purchasing an additional 534,978 shares during the period. Medina Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 968,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,509,000 after purchasing an additional 407,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollo Management Holdings L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Kennametal in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,794,000.

About Kennametal

Kennametal Inc is a global industrial technology company that designs and manufactures advanced materials, tooling systems, and engineered components for a range of demanding applications. Its solutions support precision metalworking, earthmoving, and wear-resistant environments, catering to customers seeking enhanced productivity, longer tool life, and reduced operating costs.

The company’s product portfolio spans indexable cutting tools, solid round tools, tool holders, metalworking fluid systems, wear parts, ceramics and composites, and custom-engineered components.