Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

Kadant stock opened at $303.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 8.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.93. Kadant has a twelve month low of $244.87 and a twelve month high of $354.07.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.64. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $313.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kadant will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth about $565,205,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,994,000. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 85.8% during the 2nd quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC now owns 211,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,314,000 after purchasing an additional 97,433 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the second quarter valued at about $28,773,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the second quarter valued at about $25,923,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems used in industrial processing and papermaking. Its products help customers manage fluids, process materials, and improve the efficiency of manufacturing operations.

The company’s offerings include fluid-handling equipment such as rotary joints, syphons, and expansion joints; doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems; and equipment for stock preparation and paper recycling. Kadant also provides material-processing technologies for applications including packaging, tissue, corrugated products, and other industrial markets.

Kadant serves customers around the world through operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.