Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) VP Fredrik H. Westerhout Sells 600 Shares

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This trade represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $408.42 on Friday. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $422.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $345.53 and its 200-day moving average is $316.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Kadant by 5.2% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in Kadant by 1.1% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in Kadant by 7.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Kadant by 0.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 7,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in Kadant by 7.5% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 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.