Tennant (NYSE:TNC) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Tennant in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company.

Tennant Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE TNC opened at $86.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.61. Tennant has a 12 month low of $78.57 and a 12 month high of $124.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.13. Tennant had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company had revenue of $328.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.00 million. On average, analysts predict that Tennant will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tennant declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Tennant’s payout ratio is 26.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tennant news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total value of $617,701.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,256,936.60. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tennant

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Tennant by 16.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 43,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Tennant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,873,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Tennant by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 30,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,932,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Tennant by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 436,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,971,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Tennant by 222.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 27,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.33% 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.