Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 12,555 Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 12,555 shares of Kadant Inc, valued at approximately $4.2 million, increasing its stake to 0.11% by the end of the most recent quarter.
• Several hedge funds have made significant adjustments to their holdings in Kadant during the first quarter, notably with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by 348.1%.
• Kadant has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.40%, and initiated a share repurchase plan worth $50 million.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 12,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,230,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.11% of Kadant at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 50.0% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the first quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 23.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of KAI stock opened at $344.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $281.30 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $321.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.03.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Kadant's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.44%.

Kadant announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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