GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 81,478 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 150,885.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 81,478 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.69% of Kadant worth $27,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Kadant by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in Kadant by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 13,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:KAI traded up $6.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $329.55. The company had a trading volume of 77,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $311.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.67. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.75 and a 52 week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

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.