UBS Group AG Sells 31,749 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Kadant stake by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,749 shares and leaving it with 82,724 shares worth about $23.6 million.
• Kadant posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.84 versus $2.11 expected and revenue of $281.51 million, up 17.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share from $0.34, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $341.50.

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 31,749 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.70% of Kadant worth $23,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Kadant by 76,036.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 738,525 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,494,000 after purchasing an additional 737,555 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 141.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,670,000 after purchasing an additional 58,382 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 984,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $312,432,000 after purchasing an additional 34,561 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Kadant by 163.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 55,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,374,000 after purchasing an additional 34,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE KAI opened at $339.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65 and a beta of 1.19. Kadant Inc has a 52 week low of $244.87 and a 52 week high of $369.97. The company has a quick ratio of 5.18, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $316.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.19.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $281.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.95 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company's revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 12.55 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 $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.50.

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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