Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 6.9% in January

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the December 31st total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Kadant Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $368.63. 14,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,760. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $370.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.61.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Kadant by 1.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 196.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,985,000 after buying an additional 21,545 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $585,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,876,000 after buying an additional 24,358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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.