Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) VP Thomas Andrew Blanchard Sells 175 Shares

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) VP Thomas Andrew Blanchard sold 175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.50, for a total value of $38,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,283. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kadant Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $0.26 on Tuesday, reaching $220.70. 53,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 58,098. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.16. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.19 and a 1-year high of $229.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.98% and a net margin of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.27 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Kadant in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research report on Friday, July 28th.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Kadant by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Kadant by 62.2% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter worth $101,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Kadant by 63.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

About Kadant

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates through 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, shower and fabric-conditioning systems, formation systems, and water-filtration systems.