Argent Trust Co Has $329,000 Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Kadant were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Kadant during the second quarter worth approximately $1,160,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,355,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kadant by 61.2% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Kadant by 55.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 35,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,204,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE KAI opened at $332.85 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $320.19 and a 200-day moving average of $303.37. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.21 and a 1-year high of $363.40.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $275.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.50 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on KAI shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Kadant 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.