New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires New Position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $912,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kadant in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 267.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 348.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kadant during the first quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Kadant by 23.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KAI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of KAI traded down $7.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $331.50. 104,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,312. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $317.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.24. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 1.25. Kadant Inc has a 1-year low of $281.30 and a 1-year high of $429.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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