Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 46.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,482,000 after purchasing an additional 306,352 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the first quarter worth about $92,993,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the second quarter worth about $13,495,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.4% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,872,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 28.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,035,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $406.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $331.12 and a 200 day moving average of $310.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60 and a beta of 1.21. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $247.85 and a twelve month high of $422.54.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.