Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys New Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KAI. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 14.8% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 66,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,025,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 154,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,792,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at $695,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Kadant by 24.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on KAI. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI opened at $287.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $311.80 and its 200 day moving average is $282.12. Kadant Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $183.67 and a fifty-two week high of $354.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $238.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s payout ratio is 12.93%.

Kadant Profile

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.