Bank of America Corp DE Has $24.08 Million Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,774 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.59% of Kadant worth $24,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KAI. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of KAI stock opened at $325.69 on Monday. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $266.23 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. 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 50 day simple moving average of $319.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.97. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company 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 posted $2.38 EPS. Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

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.