Dudley & Shanley Inc. Acquires 2,540 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 38.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the quarter. Kadant accounts for 0.5% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Kadant worth $3,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KAI. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kadant by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

Kadant Trading Up 1.1 %

KAI traded up $3.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $295.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,725. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.99 and a twelve month high of $354.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $280.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total value of $310,526.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.