Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Invests $1.16 Million in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,427 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 9.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,961,000 after buying an additional 114,310 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 97.9% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,528,000 after purchasing an additional 109,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Kadant by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 156,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,985,000 after purchasing an additional 26,067 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Kadant by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 154,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,289,000 after purchasing an additional 8,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 4.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 126,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,920 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KAI. Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th.

Kadant Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded up $12.40 on Tuesday, reaching $340.85. The company had a trading volume of 85,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,633. Kadant Inc has a 52-week low of $281.30 and a 52-week high of $429.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $326.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.14%.

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.