Kadant Inc $KAI Shares Sold by Southernsun Asset Management LLC

Southernsun Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,015 shares during the quarter. Kadant makes up about 1.8% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Kadant worth $12,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1,300.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Kadant during the second quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Kadant in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Performance

KAI stock opened at $308.32 on Wednesday. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $369.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $307.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.33.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 EPS for the current year.

Kadant announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kadant currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.50.

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.