Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. boosted its position in Kadant by 196.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,985,000 after purchasing an additional 21,545 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Kadant by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $585,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE KAI opened at $377.24 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $374.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $345.71.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % 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 Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.