Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Given “Outperform” Rating at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $380.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $340.00.

Kadant Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE:KAI opened at $304.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $309.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.36. Kadant has a 12-month low of $270.73 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.37. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 10.34%.The company had revenue of $255.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 15.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 415 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.41, for a total value of $140,440.15. Following the sale, the director owned 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,438,242.50. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 348.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 259.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Company 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.