Barrington Research Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Kadant (NYSE:KAI)

Kadant (NYSE:KAI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Barrington Research in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $360.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Barrington Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.00% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI traded down $2.64 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,658. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Kadant has a one year low of $196.99 and a one year high of $354.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.67.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.56 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total transaction of $310,526.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 7.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in Kadant by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 1,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.