Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 89,313 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,060,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 89,313 shares during the period. Kadant accounts for about 1.8% of Wasatch Advisors LP's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 9.03% of Kadant worth $365,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kadant by 120.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 2.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth $444,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $585,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI traded down $19.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $286.03. The company had a trading volume of 69,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,850. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 1.24. 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's 50-day moving average is $347.58 and its 200-day moving average is $358.56. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

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.