Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $302.51 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $312.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant has a 1 year low of $279.64 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Kadant by 267.9% in 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. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Kadant by 50.0% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Kadant by 348.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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