Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• FY2026 EPS guidance raised to $12.33–$12.68 (consensus $11.79) with revenue guidance of $1.2 billion, and Q2 2026 EPS guidance set at $2.88–$2.98.
• Kadant's most recent quarter beat estimates, reporting EPS of $2.84 versus the $2.11 consensus and revenue of $281.51 million versus $274.95 million expected.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.36 (from $0.34), equivalent to a $1.44 annualized payout and roughly a 0.5% yield.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 12.330-12.680 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 11.790. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.2 billion-$1.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.2 billion. Kadant also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 2.880-2.980 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson set a $303.00 target price on Kadant in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kadant has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.50.

Kadant Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Kadant stock traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $288.23. 130,407 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 157,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $317.39 and a 200-day moving average of $304.71. Kadant has a 12 month low of $244.87 and a 12 month high of $369.97.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.95 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 9.69%.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 expect that Kadant will post 12.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Kadant by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,769 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Kadant by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 33,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $1,340,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Kadant by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,079 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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