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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,509,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Kadant by 63.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 77,172 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000,000 after purchasing an additional 29,845 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KAI traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $339.95. The stock had a trading volume of 110,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,313. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $281.30 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $327.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.85. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. Kadant's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price 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.