Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Director Sells $60,527.92 in Stock

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total transaction of $60,527.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kadant Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:KAI opened at $395.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $422.54. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $341.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.33.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Kadant by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kadant by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,482,000 after buying an additional 306,352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 31,600.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.