Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 12.430-12.680 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 11.550. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.2 billion-$1.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.2 billion. Kadant also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 2.900-3.000 EPS.

Kadant Price Performance

KAI stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $336.01. The stock had a trading volume of 90,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,568. Kadant has a 52 week low of $244.87 and a 52 week high of $357.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.06.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.48. Kadant had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $312.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Kadant has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kadant will post 12.42 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.48%.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson set a $335.00 price target on Kadant in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total transaction of $410,026.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $455,473.71. The trade was a 47.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KAI. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter worth $216,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Kadant by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

About Kadant

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.