Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has decreased its holdings in Kadant Inc. by 1.4% in the last quarter, as per a recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The company now has a total of 388,950 shares of industrial product company’s stock, after selling 5,372 shares during this period. Having previously owned 3.34% of Kadant’s stock at the end of the recent period, their overall worth was $69,089,000.
The fourth quarter of 2017 saw an increase in earnings per share for Kadant Inc., which beat estimates by $0.27 to reach $2.40 per share. This performance is indicative of Kadant’s return on equity (which hit 17.12%), high net margin (11.87%) and strong revenue ($229 million). Compared to analysts’ expectation of about $221m for that quarter, this is a significant achievement.
Seaport Res Ptn’s report has expressed feelings surrounding an unstable market for Kadant stocks; on Monday May 8th they reiterated their verdict that these stocks should be rated as neutral for consistency reasons. In contrast however, StockNews.com endorsed them completely on Thursday May 18th with a “buy” rating noted on their research report covering the firm.
In February Barrington Research offered an “outperform” rating accompanied by a target price for Kadant Inc.’s shares which stands at $229 while DA Davidson increased its price target from $182 to $205 later that month.
Overall investors must consider what these varying ratings could mean for holding Kadant stocks; intense fluctuations amidst bullish opinions offer contrasting perspectives regarding the future expectations surrounding this industry player and its stability in today’s market.
Kadant Inc. Sees Changes in Ownership and Insider Trading Amidst Analyst Attention
Kadant Inc., an industrial products company, has recently seen some changes in its ownership. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have adjusted their holdings of the business. During the first quarter, Wasatch Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 3.6%, while Neuberger Berman Group LLC and Vanguard Group Inc. raised their positions by 5.8% and 1.4% respectively in the third quarter of last year. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, and Macquarie Group Ltd raised its position in Kadant by 1.2% in the same period.
Currently, approximately 95.84% of Kadant’s stock is owned by institutional investors. Shares of KAI stock opened at $189 on Friday, with a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.67, and a beta of 1.19.
Kadant has been analyzed several times, gaining attention from Seaport Res Ptn who reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Kadant on May 8th and StockNews.com who initiated coverage on Kadant on May 18th giving it a “buy” rating.
The company also announced that it will pay a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 10th to shareholders of record as of July 13th for $0.29 per share representing an annualized dividend payout ratio of 12.58% with a yield of 0.61%.
Recent insider trading activity has seen CFO Michael J Mckenney selling off shares on three occasions over the last few months totaling over $700k worth sold off.
Given these recent moves from institutional investors and hedge funds switching up their holdings along with executive actions within the firm itself through insider trading; investors could expect to see some shifts in the direction of the stock price and outlook for Kadant over the coming months.
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