Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Reaches New 1-Year High at $354.04

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $354.04 and last traded at $350.75, with a volume of 26547 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $335.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Kadant Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $293.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $248.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total transaction of $310,526.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 306,352 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 1st quarter worth $92,993,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position 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 valued at $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 2,082.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 40,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $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.

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.