Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 1,066 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Captrust Financial Advisors cut its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 56.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Kadant were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $464,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Kadant by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,980,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $307.67 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $317.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $266.23 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 14.44%.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.