Kadant (KAI) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. Over the ensuing decades, it has grown both organically and through targeted acquisitions, expanding its technology base and geographic reach. Today, Kadant serves customers across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, addressing applications in traditional paper and board mills, as well as in emerging markets such as fiber-based packaging, renewable energy generation and specialty composites.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer William P. Kreuser Jr., Kadant continues to emphasize innovation and engineered solutions that reduce waste, lower energy consumption and enhance operational uptime. The company’s research and development efforts focus on advanced materials, process automation and digital monitoring tools, reflecting a commitment to sustainable practices and continuous improvement in the industries it serves.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $307.07 to $317.24
• 50-Day Range: $284.49 to $342.23
• 52-Week Range: $244.87 to $369.97
• Volume: 33,377 shs
• Average Volume: 160,271 shs
• Market Capitalization: $3.68 billion
• P/E Ratio: 35.57
• Dividend Yield: 0.46%
• Price Target: $341.50
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Kadant Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Kadant scored higher than 68% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 101st out of 176 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: 2.6 / 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 $341.50, representing about 10.3% upside from its current price of $309.49.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Kadant has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.80%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Kadant are expected to grow by 12.80% in the coming year, from $12.50 to $14.10 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Kadant is 35.29, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 39.21.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Kadant is 35.29, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Industrials sector average P/E ratio of about 25.29.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Kadant has a P/B Ratio of 3.68. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

8.78% 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 4.5.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Kadant has recently decreased by 26.15%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Kadant has a dividend yield of 0.45%, 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 16.42%. 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 10.21% next year. This indicates that Kadant will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.38

News Sentiment

Kadant has a news sentiment score of 0.38. 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 lower news sentiment than the 0.62 average news sentiment score of Industrials companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for Kadant this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Kadant insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $410,027.00 in 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 5/13 Dividend: 4/15/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 5/13 Dividend: 4/15/2026
• Last Earnings: 5/05/2026
• Dividend Payable: 5/13/2026
• Today: 6/01/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/04/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: MACH - GENL INDL
• Sub-Industry: Industrial Machinery
• 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: $341.50
• High Price Target: $380.00
• Low Price Target: $303.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +9.5%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.25
• Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $8.77
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 35.57
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.96
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $101.97 million
• Net Margins: 9.45%
• Pretax Margin: 13.46%
• Return on Equity: 12.13%
• Return on Assets: 7.33%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.36
• Current Ratio: 2.47
• Quick Ratio: 1.53

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.05 billion
• Price / Sales: 3.50
• Cash Flow: $13.32 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 23.42
• Book Value: $84.14 per share
• Price / Book: 3.71

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 11,810,000
• Free Float: 11,654,000
• Market Cap: $3.68 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.20