Kadant (KAI) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI) is a global supplier of technologies and equipment used in the manufacturing, processing, and handling of industrial materials. The company primarily serves the pulp and paper industry, while also providing products for other process industries.

Kadant’s products include equipment for stock preparation, fiber processing, paper-machine cleaning and doctoring, water-management systems, filtration, fluid handling, drying, and material conveying. Its solutions are designed to improve production efficiency, manage water and process fluids, recover and recycle materials, and support the operation of paper and other industrial processing facilities.

The company serves customers through operations and sales channels in North America, Europe, Asia, and other international markets. Kadant was established as an independent public company after being spun off from Thermo Electron Corporation in 1997. Its portfolio has expanded through organic development and acquisitions, and the company is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey L. Powell.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $264.76 to $271.95
• 50-Day Range: $262.04 to $338.02
• 52-Week Range: $244.87 to $354.07
• Volume: 191,718 shs
• Average Volume: 162,412 shs
• Market Capitalization: $3.18 billion
• P/E Ratio: 28.92
• Dividend Yield: 0.54%
• Price Target: $357.50
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Kadant Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Kadant scored higher than 75% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 279th out of 651 stocks in the industrials sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Kadant has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.25, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 1 buy rating, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Kadant has a consensus price target of $357.50, representing about 32.9% upside from its current price of $268.94.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Kadant has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 11.78%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Kadant are expected to grow by 11.78% in the coming year, from $12.56 to $14.04 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Kadant is 28.92, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 38.90.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Kadant is 28.92, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Industrials sector average P/E ratio of about 25.44.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Kadant has a P/B Ratio of 3.20. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

8.58% of the float of Kadant has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Kadant has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.08.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Kadant has recently increased by 5.97%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Kadant has a dividend yield of 0.55%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Kadant has been increasing its dividend for 12 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Kadant is 15.48%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Kadant will have a dividend payout ratio of 10.26% next year. This indicates that Kadant will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: N/A

News Sentiment

Kadant has a news sentiment score of 0.95. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.53 average news sentiment score of Industrials companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 1 news article for Kadant this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Kadant insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

1.30% of the stock of Kadant is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

96.13% of the stock of Kadant is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 8/13 Dividend: 7/16/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 8/13 Dividend: 7/16/2026
• Last Earnings: 8/04/2026
• Dividend Payable: 8/13/2026
• Today: 10/02/2026
• Record date for 11/12 Dividend: 10/15/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 11/12 Dividend: 10/15/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/03/2026
• Dividend Payable: 11/12/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Machinery
• Sub-Industry: Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
• Current Symbol: NYSE:KAI
• CIK: 886346
• Web: www.kadant.com
• Phone: (978) 776-2000
• Fax: 978-635-1593
• Employees: 3,900
• Year Founded: 1991

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Kadant: $357.50
• High Price Target: $380.00
• Low Price Target: $335.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +32.9%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.25
• Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $9.30
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 28.92
• Forward P/E Ratio: 21.41
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $101.97 million
• Net Margins: 9.52%
• Pretax Margin: 13.61%
• Return on Equity: 13.16%
• Return on Assets: 7.67%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.49
• Current Ratio: 2.59
• Quick Ratio: 1.63

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.05 billion
• Price / Sales: 3.02
• Cash Flow: $13.91 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 19.34
• Book Value: $84.14 per share
• Price / Book: 3.20

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 11,810,000
• Free Float: 11,655,000
• Market Cap: $3.18 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.21