Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 111,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,560,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Kadant by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Kadant by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 7,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Associated Banc Corp raised its position in Kadant by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kadant Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:KAI opened at $363.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $372.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.39. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.51 and a 52-week high of $429.95.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research raised their target price on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

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.