Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Kadant were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,292,000 after purchasing an additional 243,267 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 97.9% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,528,000 after buying an additional 109,439 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Kadant by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 156,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,985,000 after buying an additional 26,067 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 154,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,289,000 after acquiring an additional 8,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $46,529,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock opened at $332.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $336.47. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $281.30 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

Kadant Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.