Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Kadant shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, reaching $286.76 and last trading near $283.76; the stock was up 7.0%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy and three Hold ratings. The average price target is $357.50, while target estimates include DA Davidson’s $335 neutral rating.
• Kadant reported quarterly EPS of $3.42, beating estimates by $0.48, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year to $312.88 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, yielding about 0.5%.

Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $274.89 and traded as high as $286.76. Kadant shares last traded at $283.7620, with a volume of 211,904 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kadant from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $357.50.

Kadant Stock Up 7.0%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $274.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.48. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 9.52%. The company had revenue of $312.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Kadant's payout ratio is 15.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 0.6% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

About Kadant

Kadant Inc NYSE: KAI is a global supplier of technologies and equipment used in the pulp and paper, recycling, and industrial processing industries. The company designs and manufactures products that help customers process fiber, manage fluids, improve production efficiency, and handle industrial materials.

Its offerings include systems and equipment for stock preparation, paper-machine cleaning, doctoring, filtration, water management, and fluid-handling applications. Kadant also provides material-handling and conveying equipment, as well as products used in recycling and other industrial processes.

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