Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys New Shares in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. 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 921 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock traded down $4.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 100,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,689. 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. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.85 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $340.03 and a 200-day moving average of $357.33.

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

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders 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 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.