Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $223,000 Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kadant by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,292,000 after purchasing an additional 243,267 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $193,595,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 154,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,289,000 after purchasing an additional 8,030 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,529,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,980,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE KAI opened at $293.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $266.23 and a 52 week high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.