Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 6,123 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Kadant by 16.5% in Q4, buying 6,123 shares to hold 43,246 shares worth about $12.33 million (0.37% of the company).
• Kadant beat quarterly expectations (Q reported EPS $2.80 vs. $2.19 est.; revenue $286.2M vs. $274.4M), raised FY2026 and Q1 guidance, and lifted its quarterly dividend to $0.36 ($1.44 annualized).
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $341.50 price target, trades near $284.90 (P/E ~32.9), and is highly institutionally owned (96.13%).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,246 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,123 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.37% of Kadant worth $12,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 11.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 8.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 907 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Kadant by 4.7% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Kadant in the first quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Kadant by 1.4% in 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 valued at $10,435,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $303.00 target price on Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $284.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $317.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Kadant Inc has a 12 month low of $244.87 and a 12 month high of $369.97.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.61. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

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.

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