Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Takes $2.16 Million Position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,404 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,158,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Kadant as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Kadant by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 3.2% in the fourth 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. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 13,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 7.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st.

Kadant Price Performance

KAI stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $329.87. 33,786 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,151. Kadant Inc has a 52 week low of $281.30 and a 52 week high of $429.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Company 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.