Vanguard Group Inc. Has $448.96 Million Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its holdings in Kadant Inc. by 9.4%, now owning over $448 million worth of shares, making up 11.32% of the company.
• Kadant's stock price has shown minor fluctuations, with a recent opening price of $339.95 and a twelve-month high of $429.95.
• Analysts have issued varying ratings for Kadant, with DA Davidson raising their price target from $275 to $300, while Barrington Research set a $380 target with an "outperform" rating.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 114,310 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.32% of Kadant worth $448,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 7.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Kadant by 736.5% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at $1,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KAI. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.00.

Kadant Stock Performance

Kadant stock traded down $9.3930 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $330.9970. The company's stock had a trading volume of 156,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,882. Kadant Inc has a 1-year low of $281.30 and a 1-year high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $327.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.39. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in 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 often a sign that the company's management 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.