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Here's Why It is Worth Investing in Kennametal Stock Now

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Key Takeaways

  • KMT expects revenue growth in aerospace and defense on rising build rates and defense spending.
  • KMT invested in Toolpath Labs to boost its AI-powered digital manufacturing capabilities.
  • KMT's 2025 EPS estimate rose 24% in 60 days, signaling improving earnings momentum.

Kennametal Inc. (KMT - Free Report) is poised to gain from the solid momentum in its end markets, strong product portfolio, product innovations and a sound capital-deployment strategy. The company remains focused on investing in growth opportunities and strengthening its long-term market position.

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has a market capitalization of $1.8 billion. In the past month, the stock has risen 8.1% compared with the industry’s 4.9% growth.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let’s delve into the factors that make this company investment-worthy at the moment.

Business Strength: The company is witnessing several positive trends that hold promise for its long-term growth. This includes an increase in U.S. and international defense spending volumes and digitalization. Also, improved supply chain and increasing original equipment manufacturer build rates in the aerospace market in EMEA bode well. For fiscal 2025, the company expects revenues from aerospace & defense markets to increase on a year-over-year basis.

Strong Product Portfolio: Kennametal is poised to benefit from its well-diversified portfolio and investments in product development. Some notable products introduced by the company are TopSwiss Inserts, HARVI TE Duo-Lock, KSEM ST Line, Through Coolant ER Collets, FV Geometry Inserts and Chip Fan etc.

Also, it remains focused on strategic partnerships and investing in manufacturing facilities to boost growth. For instance, in May 2025, Kennametal invested in Toolpath Labs, an emerging leader in AI-powered computer-aided manufacturing software. The collaboration will enable KMT to expand its suite of digital capabilities and offerings for its manufacturing customers worldwide.

Shareholder-Friendly Policies: KMT is committed to rewarding shareholders through dividend payouts and share repurchases. In the first nine months of fiscal 2025, the company distributed dividends totaling $46.6 million to its shareholders and bought back shares for $55.1 million.

In 2024, the company completed the initial share repurchase program, which was announced in July 2021. Also, in February 2024, its board of directors authorized another repurchase program worth $200 million, which is valid for three years.

Estimate Revisions: In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for KMT’s fiscal 2025 (ending June 2025) earnings has increased 24%. Also, the same for fiscal 2026 (ending June 2026) has been revised upward 7.8%.

Other Key Picks

Other top-ranked companies from the same space are discussed below:

Howmet Aerospace (HWM - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

HWM delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.8%. In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for Howmet’s 2025 earnings has increased 6.5%.

AptarGroup, Inc. (ATR - Free Report) presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. ATR delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 7.3%. In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for AptarGroup’s 2025 earnings has increased 5.7%.

Federal Signal Corporation (FSS - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. FSS delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.4%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Federal Signal’s 2025 earnings has increased 1.6%.

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