abrdn plc Buys 16,541 Shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 1.01% of Kadant worth $33,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantum Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at about $286,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 640.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 7,888 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $528,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

Kadant Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:KAI opened at $282.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 1.28. Kadant Inc. has a 52-week low of $183.19 and a 52-week high of $354.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.16.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.54 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.93%.

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.