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

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 348.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,475,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Kadant by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 259.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. 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 upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $3.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $330.12. 181,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,433. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $281.30 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $314.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.63.

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

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

Kadant Announces Dividend

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

Kadant 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.