Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research cut Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Kadant from $306.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kadant presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.50.

Kadant Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $266.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Kadant has a 12-month low of $244.87 and a 12-month high of $354.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $309.55 and its 200-day moving average is $312.53.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.48. Kadant had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The business had revenue of $312.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kadant will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 8.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Kadant in the first quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Kadant by 1.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc (NYSE: KAI) is a global supplier of technologies and equipment used in the production of paper and other industrial products. The company develops solutions that help customers manage fluid flow, process raw materials, remove contaminants, and improve the efficiency and sustainability of manufacturing operations.

Its products and services include fluid-handling equipment, doctoring and cleaning systems, stock-preparation equipment, granulators, screens, filtration systems, steam and condensate systems, and related process technologies.