Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,079 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.62% of Kadant worth $24,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $464,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,368,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,595,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Kadant by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kadant by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $4.23 on Thursday, reaching $325.27. 26,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 113,702. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.62 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.