Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

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

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Argent Trust Co raised its position in Kadant by 3.9% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 27.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its position in Kadant by 24.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 2,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 19,500.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Kadant by 5.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 760 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $1.25 on Friday, reaching $326.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 70,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,718. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40 and a beta of 1.24. Kadant Inc has a 52-week low of $281.30 and a 52-week high of $429.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $325.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $334.44. The company has a quick ratio of 4.97, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $255.27 million for 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%. The business's revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

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.