Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 20.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Kadant were worth $2,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Kadant by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Kadant by 4.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 24.7% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,999,000 after buying an additional 4,049 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the second quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kadant by 10.5% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $332.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $320.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.37. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.21 and a 1-year high of $363.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.38. Kadant had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The company had revenue of $275.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

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.