Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Position Reduced by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 80.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,014 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Kadant were worth $831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Kadant by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Kadant by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Kadant by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Kadant by 267.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $1.86 during trading on Thursday, hitting $317.93. 61,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,430. The stock's fifty day moving average is $314.33 and its 200 day moving average is $352.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.63 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Kadant's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KAI has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price 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 reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

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.