Champlain Investment Partners LLC Acquires 31,675 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 31,675 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 1.04% of Kadant worth $41,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI opened at $419.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.73. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.51 and a 52-week high of $422.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.89 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KAI shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant 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 value of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,950. The trade was a 32.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This trade represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.