25,322 Kadant Inc $KAI Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 9.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 291,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,322 shares during the period. Kadant makes up about 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Kadant were worth $76,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Legacies Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $293.85. 70,881 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $274.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.43. Kadant Inc has a twelve month low of $244.87 and a twelve month high of $354.07.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.64. Kadant had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $313.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 14.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KAI shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.50.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems used in industrial processing and papermaking. Its products help customers manage fluids, process materials, and improve the efficiency of manufacturing operations. The company’s offerings include fluid-handling equipment such as rotary joints, syphons, and expansion joints; doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems; and equipment for stock preparation and paper recycling. Kadant also provides material-processing technologies for applications including packaging, tissue, corrugated products, and other industrial markets.