Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 52 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Kadant were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,495,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,206,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,447,000 after purchasing an additional 31,675 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 87.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,872,000 after buying an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at $5,847,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE KAI opened at $403.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $351.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.85. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,392.50. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.