Royce & Associates LP Acquires 48,286 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,286 shares during the period. Kadant comprises approximately 0.6% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.74% of Kadant worth $58,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kadant during the second quarter worth $27,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Kadant during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Kadant by 89.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:KAI opened at $319.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Kadant Inc has a 12-month low of $244.87 and a 12-month high of $369.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.63.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 9.45%.Kadant’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. Analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.