Fmr LLC Raises Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 1.23% of Kadant worth $48,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Associated Banc Corp raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 7.5% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth $538,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 34.8% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,447,000 after purchasing an additional 31,675 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Kadant by 223.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 14,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,034,000 after acquiring an additional 10,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

Kadant stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $408.16. 50,424 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,564. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $363.03 and its 200-day moving average is $326.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Kadant's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This trade represents a 32.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock valued at $1,091,455. Company 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.