Simplicity Solutions LLC Makes New Investment in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $2,702,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Kadant by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $1,571,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $540,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the fourth quarter valued at $871,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares in the company, valued at $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $283.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $183.19 and a 12-month high of $354.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.61.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $238.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kadant Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.93%.

Kadant 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.