Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 40.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,867 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $6,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,438,000 after purchasing an additional 15,512 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $317,482,000 after buying an additional 306,352 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kadant by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,355,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at $92,993,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,712,000 after acquiring an additional 5,167 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Down 0.1 %

Kadant stock opened at $392.44 on Friday. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.51 and a 1-year high of $422.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $336.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.17 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other Kadant news, 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 transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. The trade was a 32.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.