Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 6.9% in January

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the December 31st total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research upped their price objective on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $507,618.87. The trade was a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $416,655 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,595,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kadant by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,909,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Kadant by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 130,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kadant by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,447,000 after acquiring an additional 31,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Trading Up 0.9 %

KAI stock traded up $3.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $368.63. 14,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,760. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 1.29. Kadant has a 1 year low of $249.51 and a 1 year high of $429.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $370.97 and a 200-day moving average of $347.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

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.