Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 63.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,456 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.40% of Kadant worth $16,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Dudley & Shanley Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 196.7% in the third quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,985,000 after buying an additional 21,545 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,876,000 after purchasing an additional 24,358 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $585,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $464,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Price Performance

KAI traded down $7.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $308.30. 23,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 107,190. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 1.24. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The business's 50 day moving average price is $341.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $357.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a net margin of 10.59% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.