Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $377.00 and last traded at $377.00, with a volume of 345 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $359.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $327.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,950. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Kadant by 68.6% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 226.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 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.