Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.48, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $312.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.17 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 9.45%. Kadant updated its FY 2026 guidance to 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 2.900-3.000 EPS.

Kadant Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of KAI stock traded up $10.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $334.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 121,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,276. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 1.20. Kadant has a 1-year low of $244.87 and a 1-year high of $357.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $306.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.86.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total transaction of $410,026.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $455,473.71. This represents a 47.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 723.4% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 56,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,082,000 after purchasing an additional 49,572 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,835,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kadant by 3.6% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 984,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,432,000 after purchasing an additional 34,561 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 163.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 55,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,374,000 after buying an additional 34,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,812,000 after buying an additional 28,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $341.50.

Kadant declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.