Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires New Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,564,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.09% of Kadant at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Kadant by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at about $709,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KAI shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson cut 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.

Kadant Price Performance

Kadant stock traded up $5.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $300.16. 120,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 107,945. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $266.23 and a 12 month high of $429.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $331.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.89.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

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.