King Luther Capital Management Corp Buys 48 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.06% of Kadant worth $2,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Kadant by 68.6% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 226.2% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE KAI opened at $419.55 on Friday. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $422.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This represents a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson raised 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.

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.