Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Given "Outperform" Rating at Barrington Research

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by equities researchers at Barrington Research in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $360.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock. Barrington Research's target price would suggest a potential upside of 25.38% from the company's current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kadant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Stock Performance

NYSE:KAI traded up $4.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $287.12. 138,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,154. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $312.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Kadant has a one year low of $183.67 and a one year high of $354.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61 and a beta of 1.28.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.54 million. Research analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $288,087.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Kadant by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Kadant by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 66,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,025,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 154,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,792,000 after purchasing an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $695,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Company 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.