Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 817 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Kadant were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Kadant during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Kadant by 31,600.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kadant in the first quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $320.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 1.21. Kadant Inc. has a one year low of $214.21 and a one year high of $363.40.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.38. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firm had revenue of $275.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

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

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.