Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.68% of Kadant worth $92,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after purchasing an additional 306,352 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $92,993,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Kadant by 1,578.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,495,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 2,082.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 40,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,312,000 after purchasing an additional 38,506 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $339.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.27. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.21 and a twelve month high of $363.40. 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 capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.41 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $263.50 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 15.48%. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

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.