DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 33,551 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,551 shares during the quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned about 0.42% of Kadant worth $17,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake 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 period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $160,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $350.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $364.86 and a 200-day moving average of $360.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96 and a beta of 1.25.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.