Strs Ohio Raises Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Strs Ohio raised its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 200.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Kadant were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kadant in the third quarter worth approximately $110,849,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 137.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,028,000 after buying an additional 47,618 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 154,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,792,000 after buying an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 57,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,868,000 after buying an additional 19,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Down 4.7 %

KAI stock opened at $273.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $311.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.12. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $183.67 and a 12 month high of $354.02. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.54 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 12.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KAI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.