Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 32.8% from the February 13th total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 159,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.7 days. Currently, 13.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Kadant Trading Up 4.3 %

KAI traded up $14.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $352.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 113,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,085. Kadant has a fifty-two week low of $249.51 and a fifty-two week high of $429.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $368.35 and its 200-day moving average is $358.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.