Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 15,002 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 81.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,002 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.28% of Kadant worth $11,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Kadant by 267.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 1,289.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $8.12 on Friday, reaching $314.38. 101,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,153. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.62 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $312.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $347.00.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is 14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KAI. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th.

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.