Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 32.8% in February

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 32.8% from the February 13th total of 1,160,000 shares. Approximately 13.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 159,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock traded up $14.42 on Friday, hitting $352.23. The company had a trading volume of 113,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,085. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $368.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $358.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant has a twelve month low of $249.51 and a twelve month high of $429.95.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

About Kadant

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.