Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 54,464 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 81,514 shares.The stock last traded at $411.51 and had previously closed at $422.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Kadant Stock Down 4.6 %

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’s 50-day moving average is $349.32 and its 200-day moving average is $318.89. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,433,950. This trade represents a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total transaction of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock worth $1,091,455. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Kadant by 0.7% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 7,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.