Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services boosted its Kadant stake 16.4% to 87,414 shares (about 0.74% of the company), as institutional investors own roughly 96.13% of the stock.
• Kadant beat Q4 estimates with $2.80 EPS (vs. $2.19 est.) and $286.2M revenue, set Q1 2026 guidance of $1.78–$1.88 and FY2026 EPS of $10.50–$10.75, while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $341.50.
• Dividend raised to $0.36 quarterly (from $0.34), payable May 13, implying a $1.44 annual payout, a 0.4% yield and a 15.7% payout ratio.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,306 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.74% of Kadant worth $24,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KAI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 907 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Kadant by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,353,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Kadant by 1.4% in the 1st 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 valued at $10,435,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $303.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $341.50.

Kadant Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $324.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $369.97.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $286.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.43 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Kadant's payout ratio is 15.72%.

About Kadant

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.

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