Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Update

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) saw a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the July 15th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 78,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 17.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on KAI. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,061,708.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the first quarter worth $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Kadant by 31,600.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE KAI opened at $305.64 on Wednesday. Kadant has a one year low of $210.43 and a one year high of $363.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $309.06 and a 200 day moving average of $303.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.38. Kadant had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm had revenue of $275.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

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.