MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $165,000. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Kadant by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the business’s 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 owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $281.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,889. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.99 and a 1 year high of $354.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $306.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.62.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, April 29th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

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.