State of Alaska Department of Revenue Takes $2.19 Million Position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,508 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,192,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of Kadant at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 348.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Kadant by 23.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE:KAI traded up $7.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $314.79. 73,139 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,540. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $311.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Kadant Inc has a 12-month low of $281.30 and a 12-month high of $429.95.

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

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors 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 is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

Kadant Company 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.