Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,030 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.32% of Kadant worth $53,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Kadant by 267.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $160,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Kadant by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KAI shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Kadant Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:KAI traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $323.05. 21,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,441. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08 and a beta of 1.30. 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 twelve month low of $266.23 and a twelve month high of $429.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $323.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.04.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.41 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Kadant's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.