Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Shares Gap Down to $273.79

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $273.79, but opened at $260.01. Kadant shares last traded at $257.72, with a volume of 15,549 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KAI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Trading Down 4.6 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $311.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02 and a beta of 1.27.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 12.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SkyOak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 21.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Simplex Trading LLC grew its position in shares of Kadant by 568.0% in the 1st quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter worth about $744,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.