Royal Bank of Canada Increases Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 3.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Kadant were worth $21,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 76,036.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 738,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,494,000 after acquiring an additional 737,555 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Kadant by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 494,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,020,000 after purchasing an additional 178,563 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kadant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,985,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Kadant by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,038,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,619,000 after buying an additional 125,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 252,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,739,000 after buying an additional 76,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Kadant

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Second-quarter revenue rose 23% year over year to approximately $312.9 million, exceeding the $299.2 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $3.42 also surpassed expectations of $2.94 and increased from $2.31 a year ago. Kadant Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy operating trends: Bookings increased 16% to $312.1 million, backlog reached $340 million, and operating cash flow rose 32% to $53.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $68.1 million, or 21.8% of revenue, supporting the view that demand remains solid. Kadant Q2 Revenue Rises to Record $313 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year outlook raised: Kadant increased its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $12.43-$12.68, above the prior outlook and the $11.55 analyst consensus, indicating management expects strong profitability for the year. Kadant Raises 2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Margin pressure: Gross margin declined to 43.8% from 45.9% a year earlier, partially offsetting the impact of higher sales and earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance missed estimates: Kadant forecast third-quarter revenue of $297 million-$307 million and EPS of $2.90-$3.00, below analyst expectations of $311.8 million and $3.29, respectively. The shortfall may limit further upside despite the strong quarter and improved full-year profit outlook. Kadant Q2 Results and Guidance

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total value of $410,026.59. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on KAI shares. Zacks Research cut Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $341.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $336.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 1.20. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $357.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $306.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.48. Kadant had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $312.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.48%.

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.