Fmr LLC Raises Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 144,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.23% of Kadant worth $48,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the second quarter worth $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 68.6% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $408.16 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.78 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $363.03 and a 200-day moving average of $326.66.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results 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. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,950. The trade was a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.