Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stake in Tennant (NYSE:TNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Tennant (NYSE:TNC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.12% of Tennant worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Tennant during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Tennant by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Tennant during the 4th quarter worth $92,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Tennant in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Tennant during the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Tennant news, insider Richard H. Zay sold 7,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.58, for a total value of $617,701.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,256,936.60. This represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Barb Balinski sold 1,717 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.42, for a total value of $148,383.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,262.18. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Tennant Stock Performance

Shares of TNC stock opened at $69.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.97. Tennant has a 52-week low of $67.80 and a 52-week high of $119.71.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $328.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.00 million. Tennant had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 6.51%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tennant will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Tennant announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Tennant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Tennant’s payout ratio is 26.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TNC shares. Northcoast Research began coverage on Tennant in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Tennant 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.