Synovus Financial Corp Takes Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.2% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $396,438,000 after acquiring an additional 15,512 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kadant by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,355,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Kadant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,909,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,788,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Kadant by 1.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 130,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $352.81. 304,217 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $370.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.32. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.51 and a 12 month high of $429.95. 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 announced 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. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

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.