Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 5,583 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 311,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,583 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.65% of Kadant worth $107,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $294.60. 106,659 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 109,001. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.51 and a 52 week high of $429.95. The firm's fifty day moving average is $335.22 and its 200-day moving average is $357.01.

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

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

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.