Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Shares Gap Down to $333.28

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $333.28, but opened at $321.67. Kadant shares last traded at $326.45, with a volume of 9,463 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.28.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 11.72%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KAI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,281,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Kadant by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Kadant by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Kadant by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC purchased a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter worth $1,483,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.