Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

KAI has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.50.

Kadant Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:KAI opened at $323.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $319.74 and its 200 day moving average is $303.74. Kadant has a 12 month low of $244.87 and a 12 month high of $369.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.61. Kadant had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 9.69%.The business had revenue of $286.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kadant will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in Kadant by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Kadant by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Company Profile

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.