Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Update

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 92,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.0 days.

Kadant Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE KAI opened at $367.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a one year low of $249.51 and a one year high of $429.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $375.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.59.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its 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. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total transaction of $60,527.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of Kadant 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 directly owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in Kadant by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $160,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research upped their price objective on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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.