Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on KAI. DA Davidson decreased 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. 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.

Kadant Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE KAI traded up $3.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.37. The stock had a trading volume of 209,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,433. Kadant has a 1 year low of $269.75 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $310.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.90. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,961,000 after acquiring an additional 114,310 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $193,595,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,528,000 after purchasing an additional 109,439 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 165,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 249.0% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 160,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,175,000 after purchasing an additional 114,732 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

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.