Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $7,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at about $92,993,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at about $670,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Kadant by 624.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Kadant by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kadant by 46.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after purchasing an additional 306,352 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $397.36 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $333.00 and a 200-day moving average of $311.04. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $247.85 and a twelve month high of $422.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,950. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kadant 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.