Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Kadant from “buy” to “hold.” Other analyst views were also cautious, with MarketBeat reporting one Buy rating and three Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $357.50.
• Kadant beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $3.64 versus $3.00 expected and revenue of $313.16 million versus $302.03 million expected. Revenue rose 15.3% year over year.
• Shares opened at $293.96, below the consensus price target; the stock’s 12-month trading range is $244.87 to $354.07.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on KAI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kadant from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $357.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock opened at $293.96 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $274.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66 and a beta of 1.19. Kadant has a twelve month low of $244.87 and a twelve month high of $354.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.64. Kadant had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company had revenue of $313.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Kadant will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 112 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Legacies Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Kadant in the third quarter worth $49,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Kadant by 18.0% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,539,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 35.8% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,816,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc NYSE: KAI is a global supplier of technologies and equipment used in the pulp and paper, recycling, and industrial processing industries. The company designs and manufactures products that help customers process fiber, manage fluids, improve production efficiency, and handle industrial materials.

Its offerings include systems and equipment for stock preparation, paper-machine cleaning, doctoring, filtration, water management, and fluid-handling applications. Kadant also provides material-handling and conveying equipment, as well as products used in recycling and other industrial processes.

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