LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Lowers Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC decreased its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the fourth quarter worth about $160,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Kadant by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Kadant by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,876,000 after acquiring an additional 24,358 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research upped their price target on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Kadant Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $367.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.28. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.51 and a 52-week high of $429.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $376.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.09. 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 (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 152 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $398.21, for a total value of $60,527.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,392.50. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. The trade was a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.