Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $344.81, but opened at $325.00. Kadant shares last traded at $328.10, with a volume of 17,503 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research boosted their price target on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Kadant Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $378.44 and a 200-day moving average of $339.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Kadant by 4.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Kadant by 55.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 35,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,204,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kadant by 61.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.