Crestline Management LP Makes New Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KAI. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Kadant by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $303.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $324.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.74. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $266.23 and a twelve month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KAI. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective 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.