Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Reduces Holdings in Kadant Inc $KAI

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,631 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $19,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 31.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Kadant by 1.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new position in Kadant in the first quarter worth $6,390,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Kadant by 54.6% during the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 248,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,928,000 after buying an additional 87,832 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $278.12 on Friday. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $420.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $284.24 and its 200 day moving average is $310.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 9.39 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $271.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.17 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 8th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $340.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total value of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,715.76. This trade represents a 31.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.91, for a total value of $186,570.09. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,544.31. The trade was a 37.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kadant 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.