Cerity Partners LLC Invests $538,000 in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Kadant by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI traded up $3.35 on Friday, hitting $408.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $363.03 and a 200-day moving average of $327.01. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.78 and a beta of 1.25.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. Kadant's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,433,950. This represents a 32.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.