SG Americas Securities LLC Takes $165,000 Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $546,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 658,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $148,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Kadant in the third quarter worth $25,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Kadant by 29.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on KAI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $290.92 on Tuesday. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.19 and a 1 year high of $354.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $317.74 and its 200 day moving average is $278.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 1.28.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The company had revenue of $238.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 12.93%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.