Kadant Inc $KAI Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Kadant Inc. by 1.1%, owning a total of 115,447 shares valued at approximately $38.9 million.
• In the first quarter, multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard and Principal Financial Group, significantly raised their holdings in Kadant, highlighting a trend of increasing institutional interest in the company.
• Kadant's earnings report showed a quarterly revenue decline of 7.3% year-over-year, but it exceeded analysts' earnings expectations with $2.31 EPS against a consensus of $1.94.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.98% of Kadant worth $38,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE KAI traded up $0.95 on Wednesday, reaching $338.64. The stock had a trading volume of 42,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,783. 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 Inc has a 12-month low of $281.30 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $329.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KAI shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.00.

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.