Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Down 6.3% in July

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the July 15th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 78,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 17.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KAI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.25, for a total value of $310,526.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,061,708.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 1.2% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,438,000 after acquiring an additional 15,512 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,355,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $92,993,000. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in Kadant by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 118,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,240,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE KAI opened at $309.70 on Monday. Kadant has a fifty-two week low of $210.43 and a fifty-two week high of $363.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $307.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26 and a beta of 1.24. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $275.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.