Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,108 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.63% of Kadant worth $66,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 267.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE KAI traded up $5.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $300.16. The stock had a trading volume of 120,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,945. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $266.23 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $331.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $356.89.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $239.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Kadant from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

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.