Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Position Trimmed by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Kadant by 31,600.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the first quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Kadant in the second quarter worth $176,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $328.16 on Monday. Kadant Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.21 and a 1 year high of $363.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $275.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.50 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,950. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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.