Clean Yield Group Grows Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 279.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,312 shares during the period. Kadant comprises about 1.4% of Clean Yield Group's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Clean Yield Group owned about 0.11% of Kadant worth $4,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Kadant by 267.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kadant by 1,289.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 924.5% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $3.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $333.37. 209,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 113,433. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $311.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.75 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The business's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

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.