Zhang Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $367.34 on Monday. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $376.73 and a 200 day moving average of $343.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total transaction of $60,527.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.