Quantum Private Wealth LLC Makes New $286,000 Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Quantum Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 70.4% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kadant news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $288,087.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 worth $2,899,004 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kadant Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:KAI traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $291.03. The company had a trading volume of 50,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,865. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $317.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.53. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.19 and a 52 week high of $354.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.27.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The company had revenue of $238.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.93%.

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.