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

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $464,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,980,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,460,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $3,368,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI traded up $6.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $329.55. 77,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,760. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.75 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $311.27 and a 200 day moving average of $349.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

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.