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

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 703 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.05% of Kadant worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kadant by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after purchasing an additional 306,352 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the first quarter worth $92,993,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the second quarter valued at about $13,495,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.4% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,872,000 after buying an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Kadant by 28.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,035,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $391.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $338.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.90. Kadant Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.51 and a 12 month high of $422.54.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,950. This trade represents a 32.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

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.