Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Purchased by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 43.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Kadant were worth $2,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 46.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after acquiring an additional 306,352 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the first quarter valued at approximately $92,993,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1,578.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,618 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 2,082.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 40,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,312,000 after acquiring an additional 38,506 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total value of $310,526.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KAI shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI traded up $9.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $355.83. 63,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,175. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.49. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.99 and a 1-year high of $356.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.33%.

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.