Select Equity Group L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Kadant Inc by 519.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately $27.18 million worth of shares.
• Kadant recently announced a $50 million stock repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 9th.
• Despite a quarterly revenue decrease of 7.3% year-over-year, Kadant reported earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 519.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 67,648 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 0.69% of Kadant worth $27,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 720 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at $323,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 156,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,985,000 after acquiring an additional 26,067 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.41, for a total value of $140,440.15. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,438,242.50. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI traded down $7.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $314.86. 25,271 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,851. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $331.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $327.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98 and a beta of 1.25. 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 one year low of $281.30 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $245.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Kadant'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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

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.