Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Stock Price Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $302.66 and last traded at $303.99. Approximately 78,519 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 125,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.47.

Key Headlines Impacting Kadant

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: GAAP EPS $2.27 vs. $2.19 consensus and revenue $286.2M vs. $274.4M expected — shows near-term execution and demand resilience. Kadant (KAI) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 revenue and improved margins: revenue rose ~11% YoY and margins expanded, supporting stronger profitability going forward. Kadant Posts Record Q4 Revenue and Improves Margins
• Positive Sentiment: FY 2026 EPS guidance raised to $10.50–$10.75, above the Street (~$10.25) — a signal of stronger full-year profitability expectations. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and a $380 price target, indicating some analyst conviction above current levels. Benzinga: Barrington Research Reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: FY revenue guidance roughly $1.2B — essentially in line with expectations, so revenue guidance alone is neither a big positive nor negative surprise. Kadant FY Guidance (press release)
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 EPS guidance missed the Street: company guided $1.780–$1.880 vs. consensus ~$2.26 — a material shortfall that likely drove the intraday decline as it signals near-term softness. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guide $270M–$280M is centered near consensus ($272.5M) but the EPS weakness suggests margin or timing issues to monitor. Kadant Q1 Revenue Guidance (press release)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Kadant Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $312.45 and a 200 day moving average of $304.53.

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

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total transaction of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Kadant by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 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.