Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 26,067 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 1.33% of Kadant worth $53,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,980,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Kadant by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,460,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock traded down $3.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $322.50. The company had a trading volume of 56,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,311. 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 $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $319.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.97. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $266.23 and a 12 month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

Kadant declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding 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 an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson reduced 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. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant 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.