Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 30.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,035 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Kadant were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $3.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $305.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 113,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,369. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $266.23 and a 1-year high of $429.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.34.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 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.