Neuberger Berman Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 746,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 66,528 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 6.36% of Kadant worth $257,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Kadant by 267.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $160,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Kadant Trading Up 12.9 %

NYSE:KAI opened at $329.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $355.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $359.36. Kadant Inc. has a one year low of $249.51 and a one year high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.17. Kadant had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.59%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 9.97 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Kadant’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.