Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 1,683 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Kadant Inc by 40.4%, acquiring an additional 1,683 shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,846 shares worth approximately $1.86 million.
• Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 415 shares at an average price of $338.41, resulting in an 8.90% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• Kadant reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.31 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue was down 7.3% year-over-year.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 40.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,846 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Kadant were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 736.5% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,127,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 348.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 1st quarter worth about $111,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.41, for a total transaction of $140,440.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,438,242.50. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI opened at $303.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $322.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $320.48. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $281.30 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Kadant has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $340.00.

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.

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