Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 6.9% in December

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the December 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 92,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.0 days.

Kadant Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KAI traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $367.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 78,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,324. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $376.73 and a 200-day moving average of $342.76.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kadant will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total transaction of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,392.50. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,345,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the third quarter valued at $11,206,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in Kadant by 64.1% in the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 83,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,109,000 after buying an additional 32,491 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 34.8% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,447,000 after buying an additional 31,675 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,876,000 after buying an additional 24,358 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.