Kadant (KAI) Competitors

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and Kadant (NYSE:KAI) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Is FELE or KAI a better dividend stock?

Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Kadant pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Franklin Electric pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kadant pays out 15.1% 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. Franklin Electric has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Kadant has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of FELE or KAI?

80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Kadant shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Kadant shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor FELE or KAI?

In the previous week, Franklin Electric had 2 more articles in the media than Kadant. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Franklin Electric and 3 mentions for Kadant. Kadant's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Franklin Electric's score of 0.82 indicating that Kadant is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Franklin Electric	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Kadant	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate FELE or KAI?

Franklin Electric currently has a consensus target price of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.96%. Kadant has a consensus target price of $340.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.01%. Given Kadant's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Kadant is more favorable than Franklin Electric.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Kadant	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more volatility and risk, FELE or KAI?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kadant has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FELE or KAI more profitable?

Kadant has a net margin of 10.34% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric's return on equity of 14.05% beat Kadant's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%
Kadant	10.34%	12.62%	7.66%

Which has better earnings and valuation, FELE or KAI?

Franklin Electric has higher revenue and earnings than Kadant. Franklin Electric 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
Franklin Electric	$2.06B	2.14	$180.31M	$3.87	25.61
Kadant	$1.05B	3.28	$111.60M	$8.98	32.64

Summary

Kadant beats Franklin Electric on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.