KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 2,400 Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $828,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $160,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Down 4.3 %

KAI stock traded down $13.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $304.54. 179,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,698. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $360.41. 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 twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95.

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Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Kadant Company 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.