Capital International Investors Cuts Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Capital International Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 5.21% of Kadant worth $200,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kadant by 46.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after acquiring an additional 306,352 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its stake in Kadant by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 118,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,240,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kadant by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 114,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,170,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Kadant by 1,578.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total transaction of $310,526.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded up $9.75 on Friday, hitting $355.83. 63,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,175. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.99 and a 1-year high of $356.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $296.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Kadant Profile

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.