Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Tennant worth $8,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TNC. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Tennant by 1.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 28,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Tennant by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Tennant by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 31,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Tennant during the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Tennant by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 684,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the period. 93.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tennant Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:TNC opened at $86.72 on Friday. Tennant has a 12-month low of $78.57 and a 12-month high of $124.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.61.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.13. Tennant had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 6.51%. The company had revenue of $328.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.00 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tennant will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Tennant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.94%.

Tennant announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on TNC shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Tennant in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tennant

In other Tennant news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of Tennant stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.40% 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.