Amalgamated Bank Grows Holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 736.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Kadant were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 13,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KAI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:KAI traded down $7.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $331.50. 104,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,312. The company has a fifty day moving average of $317.02 and a 200 day moving average of $337.24. Kadant Inc has a 12 month low of $281.30 and a 12 month high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 1.25.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

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

Kadant declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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.