Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday, August 5th. The firm currently has $98.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.
According to Zacks, “Kadant Inc. is a leading supplier of a range of products and systems for the global papermaking and paper-recycling industries, including de-inking systems, stock-preparation equipment, water-management systems, and papermaking accessories. Through its majority-owned Thermo Fibergen subsidiary, the company also develops and commercializes composite building materials produced from natural fiber and recycled plastic. Kadant is a public subsidiary of Thermo Electron Corporation.(Press Release) “
KAI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Kadant from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Sidoti reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Kadant in a research note on Saturday, June 3rd. William Blair raised shares of Kadant from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, BidaskClub cut shares of Kadant from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Kadant presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $82.00.
Shares of Kadant (KAI) traded up 0.83% on Friday, hitting $85.10. 74,961 shares of the stock traded hands. Kadant has a 52 week low of $49.20 and a 52 week high of $89.90. The firm has a market cap of $936.44 million, a P/E ratio of 28.10 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.49.
Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $110.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.49 million. Kadant had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 12.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post $4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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Kadant declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 17th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kadant by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 227,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,921,000 after buying an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kadant by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at about $476,000. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in Kadant by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 487,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,813,000 after buying an additional 32,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.09% of the company’s stock.
About Kadant
Kadant Inc is a supplier of equipment and components used in process industries. In addition, the Company manufactures granules made from papermaking by-products. Its segments include Papermaking Systems and Wood Processing Systems. The Company has a customer base, which includes paper and oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturers.
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