Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has acquired 1,012 shares of Kadant Inc, valued at approximately $341,000, marking a new stake during the first quarter.
• Kadant Inc reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.94, although revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a stock buyback plan allowing it to repurchase up to $50 million of its shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kadant by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,961,000 after buying an additional 114,310 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 97.9% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,528,000 after purchasing an additional 109,439 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 150,885.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 81,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 81,478 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 809.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,863,000 after purchasing an additional 57,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 71.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,829,000 after purchasing an additional 33,084 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock traded down $0.8990 during trading on Monday, hitting $340.0010. The company had a trading volume of 129,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,950. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 1.24. Kadant Inc has a 1-year low of $281.30 and a 1-year high of $429.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $328.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KAI. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.00.

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.