Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $32.00 target price on shares of Kennametal in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kennametal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kennametal from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kennametal from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kennametal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kennametal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.67.

Kennametal Stock Up 3.4%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.12. Kennametal had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 5.43%.The company had revenue of $529.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Kennametal has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.600 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kennametal Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. 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 Buying and Selling at Kennametal

In related news, VP John Wayne Witt sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.29, for a total transaction of $193,747.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,565.86. This trade represents a 75.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Kennametal by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Kennametal by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Kennametal by 13.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 240,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,124,000 after purchasing an additional 28,020 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 39.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 229,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after purchasing an additional 64,907 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kennametal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 11,419 shares in the last quarter.

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.