IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Has $1.55 Million Position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 20.3%, now owning 4,595 shares valued at approximately $1.55 million.
• Kadant recently reported $2.31 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue was down 7.3% compared to the previous year.
• The company approved a stock repurchase program allowing up to $50 million in share buybacks, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Kadant were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 83,717 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18,995 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $631,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Kadant by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 14,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,847,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $326.89. 70,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 8.17 and a quick ratio of 4.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $324.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.78. Kadant Inc has a one year low of $281.30 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.99 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%. Kadant's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 15.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th.

Kadant 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.