Voloridge Investment Management LLC Has $2.48 Million Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,867 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Kadant worth $2,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KAI. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $193,595,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $420,292,000 after buying an additional 243,267 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $46,529,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $39,400,000. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $38,560,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Up 0.6%

KAI stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $317.93. The stock had a trading volume of 61,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,430. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.63 and a twelve month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

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

About Kadant

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.