Kadant’s (KAI) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $360.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. Barrington Research also issued estimates for Kadant’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.47 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.06 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.37 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $11.83 EPS.

Separately, DA Davidson raised their price target on Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Kadant Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Kadant stock opened at $343.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.25. Kadant has a 52-week low of $231.83 and a 52-week high of $363.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $323.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.86.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $271.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kadant will post 9.99 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Kadant’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total transaction of $674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,950. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 46.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after buying an additional 306,352 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter worth about $92,993,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,495,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Kadant by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,872,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Kadant by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,035,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.