Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $344.81, but opened at $325.00. Kadant shares last traded at $328.10, with a volume of 17,503 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Kadant Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $378.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.60.

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

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,392.50. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KAI. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Kadant in the third quarter worth about $11,345,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,206,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 83,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,109,000 after acquiring an additional 32,491 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kadant by 34.8% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,447,000 after acquiring an additional 31,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 60.3% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% 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.