Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. Kadant had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The business had revenue of $286.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 10.500-10.750 EPS.

Kadant Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $320.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Kadant has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $398.69. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $312.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kadant news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total transaction of $405,186.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,715.76. This represents a 31.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter worth $1,340,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Numerai GP LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 18,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,225,000 after buying an additional 11,270 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Key Stories Impacting Kadant

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: Kadant reported $2.27 EPS versus the $2.19 consensus and revenue of $286.2M (up ~11% YoY), with margin improvement and record quarterly sales, which supports the company’s profitability story. Kadant (KAI) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year FY2026 EPS guidance was raised above street consensus (guidance 10.50–10.75 vs. consensus ~10.25), signaling stronger full-year profitability expectations. This is a medium-term positive for valuation. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating with a $380 price target, indicating continued analyst confidence above current levels. Barrington Research rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue guidance for FY2026 was essentially in line with estimates (company issued ~$1.2B range in line with consensus), which removes downside from topline expectations but is not a clear upside driver. Press Release / Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance missed materially: management guided to $1.78–1.88 for Q1 versus the $2.26 consensus, creating a near-term earnings growth slowdown that likely prompted the intraday sell-off. Q1 revenue guidance ($270–$280M) was close to consensus but the EPS miss dominates the reaction. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results

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.