West Coast Financial LLC Sells 1,129 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

West Coast Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,129 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in Kadant were worth $1,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $193,595,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $420,292,000 after acquiring an additional 243,267 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $46,529,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $39,400,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 150,885.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 81,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,469,000 after acquiring an additional 81,478 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock traded up $6.00 on Friday, hitting $329.55. 77,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.75 and a 12 month high of $429.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $311.27 and a 200 day moving average of $349.22.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Kadant's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.