Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 1,481.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,398 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Kadant worth $3,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 348.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 1,289.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 924.5% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KAI shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson cut 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 Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE:KAI traded down $8.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $314.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 101,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,330. The business's 50-day moving average is $312.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.62 and a 52-week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Kadant's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Kadant declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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.