Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 90,925 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 141,755 shares.The stock last traded at $292.9040 and had previously closed at $293.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAI has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $340.00.

Kadant Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $281.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.75. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.45.

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

Kadant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total value of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,715.76. The trade was a 31.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.91, for a total value of $186,570.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,544.31. The trade was a 37.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter valued at $1,500,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 89.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Kadant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $374,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Kadant by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,910,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc, headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, is a global supplier of high‐value, critical components and engineered systems for the pulp and paper industry and other process industries. The company’s product portfolio spans stock preparation technologies, refiners and pulpers, fluid handling systems, and web‐handling equipment designed to optimize the efficiency and quality of paper production. In addition to capital equipment, Kadant offers aftermarket services, including spare parts, maintenance programs and process optimization consulting, which together support long‐term customer productivity and reliability.

Originally part of a larger industrial conglomerate, Kadant was established as an independent public company in 1991.