Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 10.500-10.750 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 10.250. 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 Q1 2026 guidance to 1.780-1.880 EPS.

Kadant Price Performance

NYSE:KAI traded down $12.96 on Wednesday, hitting $320.55. The company had a trading volume of 176,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,347. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $311.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.42. Kadant has a 52 week low of $244.87 and a 52 week high of $398.69.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.08. Kadant had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The company had revenue of $286.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kadant will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KAI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $295.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kadant has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total transaction of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,715.76. This trade represents a 31.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kadant News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Kadant reported EPS of $2.27 vs. consensus $2.19 and revenue of $286.2M vs. ~$274.4M expected, with improved margins and healthy ROE. These results point to underlying demand strength and margin recovery. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and margin improvement highlighted by the company/coverage — commentary and summaries emphasize an 11% y/y revenue gain and margin progress, reinforcing the quality of the quarter. Kadant Posts Record Q4 Revenue and Improves Margins
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating with a $380 price target, signaling continued analyst conviction about upside from current levels. Benzinga Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets summarized the quarter and company release; investors can review the full press release and coverage for segment-level detail and any forward-looking commentary. Kadant’s (NYSE:KAI) Q4 CY2025: Strong Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Shares declined today despite the beat — likely drivers include profit-taking after recent strength, elevated valuation (PE ~37), and investors awaiting management’s FY26 outlook or other forward guidance details. Higher trading volume suggests some repositioning even though the quarter was solid. (Market data and intraday movement referenced from market summaries.)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 723.4% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 56,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,082,000 after purchasing an additional 49,572 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,835,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 3.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 984,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,432,000 after buying an additional 34,561 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in Kadant by 163.8% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 55,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,374,000 after purchasing an additional 34,170 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Kadant by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,812,000 after acquiring an additional 28,380 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.