QSV Equity Investors LLC Sells 834 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• QSV Equity Investors LLC reduced its stake in Kadant Inc by 18.5%, owning 3,670 shares after selling 834 during the first quarter.
• Kadant reported a $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $1.94, although revenue decreased by 7.3% year-over-year.
• The company's Board approved a $50 million share buyback plan, signaling confidence in the stock's valuation.

QSV Equity Investors LLC lessened its holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. QSV Equity Investors LLC's holdings in Kadant were worth $1,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,961,000 after purchasing an additional 114,310 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Kadant by 97.9% in 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. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Kadant by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 165,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,972 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 worth $53,985,000 after purchasing an additional 26,067 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 4.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 126,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of KAI traded up $13.8750 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $340.5350. 106,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 114,763. The company's fifty day moving average price is $328.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Inc has a 12 month low of $281.30 and a 12 month high of $429.95.

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.00.

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.