Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

KAI has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE KAI opened at $329.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $314.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $338.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02 and a beta of 1.25. Kadant has a one year low of $281.30 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,961,000 after buying an additional 114,310 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 97.9% during the first 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kadant by 7.1% during the first 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 during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 249.0% during the first 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 156,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,985,000 after purchasing an additional 26,067 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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