37,264 Shares in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired 37,264 shares of Kadant Inc, valued at approximately $12.6 million, increasing its stake to 0.32% of the company's stock.
• Kadant reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.94, despite a 7.3% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%, along with a share buyback plan totaling $50 million.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 37,264 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $12,555,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Kadant as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Kadant by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kadant by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Kadant by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Kadant by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 888 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Down 0.2%

KAI stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $339.95. 110,382 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,313. Kadant Inc has a 12 month low of $281.30 and a 12 month high of $429.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $255.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.99 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KAI. Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th.

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.