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

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)’s stock price 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $310.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.86.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 11.72%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $288,087.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 27.1% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 50,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,415,000 after acquiring an additional 10,858 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant during the third quarter worth about $110,849,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 50.1% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 57,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,868,000 after buying an additional 19,047 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Kadant during the third quarter worth about $909,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Kadant during the third quarter worth about $4,000,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Company Profile

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.