Kadant (KAI) Competitors

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) and Kadant (NYSE:KAI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Does the media refer more to IEX or KAI?

In the previous week, IDEX had 11 more articles in the media than Kadant. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for IDEX and 5 mentions for Kadant. Kadant's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat IDEX's score of 0.87 indicating that Kadant is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
IDEX	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kadant	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, IEX or KAI?

IDEX has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kadant has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, IEX or KAI?

IDEX has higher revenue and earnings than Kadant. IDEX is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kadant, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDEX	$3.27B	4.19	$505M	$6.31	28.72
Kadant	$1.05B	3.69	$111.60M	$9.42	35.02

Do analysts recommend IEX or KAI?

IDEX currently has a consensus target price of $212.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.24%. Kadant has a consensus target price of $327.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.72%. Given IDEX's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe IDEX is more favorable than Kadant.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEX	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Kadant	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is IEX or KAI more profitable?

IDEX has a net margin of 14.60% compared to Kadant's net margin of 10.63%. IDEX's return on equity of 15.51% beat Kadant's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEX	14.60%	15.51%	8.91%
Kadant	10.63%	13.74%	8.10%

Is IEX or KAI a better dividend stock?

IDEX pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Kadant pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. IDEX pays out 45.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kadant pays out 14.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. IDEX has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Kadant has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. IDEX is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in IEX or KAI?

98.0% of IDEX shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Kadant shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of IDEX shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Kadant shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

IDEX beats Kadant on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.