Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 9,097 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,097 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Kadant were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in Kadant by 0.4% during the 4th 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 period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Kadant by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 76,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,466,000 after purchasing an additional 13,441 shares during the period. Man Group plc increased its position in Kadant by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 19,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $690,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Kadant by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target 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.

Kadant Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $3.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $323.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,711. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.75 and a 52 week high of $429.95. 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 (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Kadant declared 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 buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.