Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Kadant raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $12.43–$12.68, above the $11.55 analyst consensus, while forecasting revenue of roughly $1.2 billion. Q3 EPS guidance was set at $2.90–$3.00.
• The company’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.42 versus the $2.94 consensus and revenue of $312.88 million compared with estimates of $299.17 million. Shares rose 3.1% to $334.67 following the update.
• Kadant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share and maintains authorization to repurchase up to $50 million, or approximately 1.4% of outstanding shares. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $341.50.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 12.430-12.680 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 11.550. 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 Q3 2026 guidance to 2.900-3.000 EPS.

Kadant Trading Up 3.1%

Kadant stock traded up $10.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $334.67. The company had a trading volume of 121,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $306.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.86. Kadant has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $357.65.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.48. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 9.45%.The company had revenue of $312.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.17 million. Kadant has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant's payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Kadant announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kadant from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kadant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research cut Kadant from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kadant currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $341.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total value of $410,026.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $455,473.71. The trade was a 47.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kadant by 3.6% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 984,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $312,432,000 after purchasing an additional 34,561 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 456,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $130,175,000 after purchasing an additional 15,446 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,537,000 after purchasing 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. grew its stake in Kadant by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 151,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,277,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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