Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the December 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.0 days.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $367.34. 78,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,324. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a 52 week low of $249.51 and a 52 week high of $429.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $376.73 and its 200-day moving average is $342.76.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kadant will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at $507,618.87. This represents a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. raised its position in Kadant by 196.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,985,000 after purchasing an additional 21,545 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Kadant by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kadant by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the third quarter valued at approximately $585,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.