Intech Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Kadant by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Kadant by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Kadant by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,712,000 after buying an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $615,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Stock Up 2.3 %

KAI stock opened at $412.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $354.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $321.01. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25 and a beta of 1.21. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,392.50. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.