Insider Selling: Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Director Sells $60,527.92 in Stock

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,392.50. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kadant Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE KAI opened at $408.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.51 and a 52 week high of $422.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $345.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.51.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Kadant by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,482,000 after acquiring an additional 306,352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Kadant by 31,600.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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.