Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $4.07 Million Stock Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management cut its Kadant stake by 29.5% in Q4, ending with 13,872 shares worth about $4.07 million.
• Kadant reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.84 versus $2.11 expected and revenue of $281.5 million, while also issuing upbeat full-year and Q2 2026 guidance.
• The company recently authorized a $50 million share repurchase program and declared a $0.36 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $341.50 average price target.

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,793 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.12% of Kadant worth $4,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 11.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 8.6% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 907 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kadant by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Kadant during the first quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Kadant by 1.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,974 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total value 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. The trade was a 47.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $293.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.47. Kadant Inc has a 52 week low of $244.87 and a 52 week high of $369.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $314.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.64.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $281.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kadant from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kadant from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $341.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.