Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,063 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Kadant worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,028,000 after buying an additional 47,618 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $1,571,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kadant by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 658,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Kadant by 1,578.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Kadant by 640.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 7,888 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KAI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Kadant Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of KAI traded down $1.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $294.10. The company had a trading volume of 5,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,050. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $281.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.24. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.99 and a 52-week high of $354.02.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Kadant’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total transaction of $310,526.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.