Short Interest in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Expands By 6.2%

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the September 15th total of 1,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 69,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 22.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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 Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $334.83 on Thursday. Kadant has a 1 year low of $214.21 and a 1 year high of $363.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $275.00 million for 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 for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,438,000 after purchasing an additional 15,512 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 46.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,482,000 after buying an additional 306,352 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the first quarter valued at $92,993,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,712,000 after buying an additional 5,167 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kadant

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.