Yousif Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kadant by 1,289.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 924.5% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the subject of several research reports. 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. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th.

Kadant Stock Down 1.9%

Kadant stock traded down $6.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $303.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 76,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,906. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.62. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $279.64 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.