Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.73, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $281.51 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Kadant updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 12.330-12.680 EPS.
Kadant Trading Up 0.4%
Shares of KAI traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $328.22. The stock had a trading volume of 58,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,932. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 5.18. Kadant has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $369.97. The stock's 50 day moving average is $316.00 and its 200 day moving average is $305.91.
Kadant Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. 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%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kadant by 3.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 984,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $312,432,000 after buying an additional 34,561 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Kadant by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 456,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,175,000 after purchasing an additional 15,446 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,537,000 after acquiring an additional 10,249 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Kadant by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 190,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,426,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 151,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently weighed in on KAI shares. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.50.
Read Our Latest Report on KAI
About Kadant
(
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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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