Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,254,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,813,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday.

Kadant Stock Down 0.4 %

Kadant stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $298.79. 19,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,619. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $266.23 and a 52-week high of $429.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $331.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.89.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.13. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. The company had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Kadant's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Kadant's payout ratio is 14.44%.

Kadant 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.