Royce & Associates LP Sells 56,444 Shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 56,444 shares during the quarter. Kadant makes up approximately 0.5% of Royce & Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.27% of Kadant worth $50,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $420,292,000 after buying an additional 243,267 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth about $46,529,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth about $39,400,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Kadant by 97.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Kadant by 150,885.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 81,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 81,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on KAI shares. Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. 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, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $344.12. The company had a trading volume of 96,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,540. Kadant Inc has a twelve month low of $281.30 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company's 50-day moving average is $321.35 and its 200-day moving average is $336.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Kadant declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 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.