Mackenzie Financial Corp Makes New Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Kadant by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $528,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $2,702,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kadant by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $1,571,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KAI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Price Performance

Kadant stock opened at $287.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.28. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.67 and a 52 week high of $354.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. Kadant had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.93%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% 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.