Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by William Blair

William Blair reissued their outperform rating on shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports. William Blair also issued estimates for Kadant’s Q2 2024 earnings at $2.47 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.54 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $10.05 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Kadant from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $272.69 on Tuesday. Kadant has a twelve month low of $186.95 and a twelve month high of $354.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $308.73 and a 200-day moving average of $282.19.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $288,087.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its position in Kadant by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 1,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% 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.