Kadant’s (KAI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $380.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $340.00.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI opened at $327.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.82 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Kadant has a one year low of $244.87 and a one year high of $409.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $301.26 and a 200 day moving average of $304.65.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total value of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,066 shares in the company, valued at $865,715.76. This represents a 31.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.91, for a total transaction of $186,570.09. Following the sale, the director owned 1,141 shares in the company, valued at $304,544.31. The trade was a 37.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Kadant by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kadant

Kadant Inc, headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, is a global supplier of high‐value, critical components and engineered systems for the pulp and paper industry and other process industries. The company’s product portfolio spans stock preparation technologies, refiners and pulpers, fluid handling systems, and web‐handling equipment designed to optimize the efficiency and quality of paper production. In addition to capital equipment, Kadant offers aftermarket services, including spare parts, maintenance programs and process optimization consulting, which together support long‐term customer productivity and reliability.

Originally part of a larger industrial conglomerate, Kadant was established as an independent public company in 1991.