Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,732 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Kadant worth $12,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $420,292,000 after acquiring an additional 243,267 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kadant by 97.9% during the 1st 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 during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Kadant by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 156,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,985,000 after purchasing an additional 26,067 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 154,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,289,000 after buying an additional 8,030 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $46,529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock traded down $7.06 on Monday, hitting $326.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,816. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $320.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $281.30 and a 1 year high of $429.95.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Kadant

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.