First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $52,000 Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $165,000. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $281.44 on Wednesday. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.99 and a 12-month high of $354.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $305.95 and a 200-day moving average of $284.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.56 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 13.33%.

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.