Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $16.42 Million Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 406.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,073 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $16,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.6% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Kadant by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 1,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total transaction of $410,026.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $455,473.71. This trade represents a 47.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI opened at $325.45 on Tuesday. Kadant Inc has a 1-year low of $244.87 and a 1-year high of $357.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $306.50 and its 200-day moving average is $315.86.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.95 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kadant presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.50.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc, headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, is a global supplier of high‐value, critical components and engineered systems for the pulp and paper industry and other process industries. The company’s product portfolio spans stock preparation technologies, refiners and pulpers, fluid handling systems, and web‐handling equipment designed to optimize the efficiency and quality of paper production. In addition to capital equipment, Kadant offers aftermarket services, including spare parts, maintenance programs and process optimization consulting, which together support long‐term customer productivity and reliability.

Originally part of a larger industrial conglomerate, Kadant was established as an independent public company in 1991.