Kadant Inc $KAI Holdings Raised by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 25,322 shares during the period. Kadant accounts for 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 2.46% of Kadant worth $76,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 80.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Legacies Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $293.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,371. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $274.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.43. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $354.07. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.64. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $313.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.50.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems used in industrial processing and papermaking. Its products help customers manage fluids, process materials, and improve the efficiency of manufacturing operations. The company’s offerings include fluid-handling equipment such as rotary joints, syphons, and expansion joints; doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems; and equipment for stock preparation and paper recycling. Kadant also provides material-processing technologies for applications including packaging, tissue, corrugated products, and other industrial markets.