Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $424.24 and last traded at $424.24, with a volume of 236 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $419.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KAI. 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Kadant Trading Up 1.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $349.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In related news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This represents a 32.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,052 shares of company stock valued at $1,091,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Kadant by 68.6% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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.