Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 1,531 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.12% of Kadant worth $44,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant during the second quarter worth $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 68.6% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,433,950. This represents a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on KAI shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of KAI traded up $4.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $423.23. 110,869 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 81,649. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $349.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.89. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.51 and a 52 week high of $429.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 43.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29.

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. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Kadant's payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

About Kadant

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.