Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $727,000 Position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KAI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Kadant by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Kadant by 348.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Kadant by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $344.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62 and a beta of 1.25. Kadant Inc has a twelve month low of $281.30 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $336.01.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on KAI shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

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.