Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Price Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) shares rose 6.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $340.45 and last traded at $348.9370. Approximately 34,504 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 132,337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $303.00 price target on Kadant in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $341.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $313.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.69.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $286.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.43 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 9.69%.The company’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total value of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,715.76. This trade represents a 31.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 76,036.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 738,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,494,000 after buying an additional 737,555 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Kadant by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 494,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,020,000 after purchasing an additional 178,563 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,985,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 54.6% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 248,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,928,000 after buying an additional 87,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1,619.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 77,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,188,000 after buying an additional 73,320 shares during the last quarter. 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.