Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, DA Davidson Analyst Says

Key Points

• DA Davidson has raised Kadant's price target from $275.00 to $300.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating despite a potential downside of 8.52% from the previous close.
• Kadant reported earnings of $2.31 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but revenue decreased by 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has initiated a share buyback plan allowing repurchase of up to $50 million in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. DA Davidson's price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.52% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th.

Kadant Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of KAI stock traded up $3.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $327.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,526. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $324.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $335.52. Kadant has a 52 week low of $281.30 and a 52 week high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 8.17. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $255.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.99 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in Kadant by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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