Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Acquired by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 194.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,717 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,395 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.11% of Kadant worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KAI. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,595,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kadant by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $420,292,000 after purchasing an additional 243,267 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,529,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,400,000. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,560,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KAI. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI traded up $3.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $303.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,521. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $266.23 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $324.33 and its 200-day moving average is $356.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

About Kadant

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.