Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $588,000 Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 46.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after acquiring an additional 306,352 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the 1st quarter worth $221,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Kadant by 3,838.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Kadant by 38.6% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,433,950. The trade was a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE KAI traded down $1.90 on Tuesday, reaching $416.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 636 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,166. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.51 and a 52 week high of $429.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $349.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.89.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

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.