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

Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Kadant by 267.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 1,289.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 924.5% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced 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. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th.

Kadant Trading Up 1.5%

KAI opened at $320.22 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $313.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $344.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.62 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.44%.

Kadant declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication 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.

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