Insider Selling: Kadant (NYSE:KAI) SVP Sells 1,227 Shares of Stock

Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) SVP Stacy Krause sold 1,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total transaction of $410,026.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,363 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link.

Kadant Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:KAI traded up $3.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $333.38. 194,968 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,748. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $244.87 and a fifty-two week high of $369.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.01 and a beta of 1.19.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Kadant announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kadant presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $341.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Kadant by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.