Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases Shares of 2,066 Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Kadant by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 13,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $317.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 1.25. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $281.30 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $318.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KAI shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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.