Kadant’s (KAI) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of Kadant (NYSE:KAI) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $380.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $295.00 target price on Kadant in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI opened at $320.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $312.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Kadant has a 12-month low of $244.87 and a 12-month high of $398.69.

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

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.36, for a total value of $405,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,715.76. This represents a 31.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kadant during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Kadant in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Kadant News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: Kadant reported $2.27 EPS versus the $2.19 consensus and revenue of $286.2M (up ~11% YoY), with margin improvement and record quarterly sales, which supports the company’s profitability story. Kadant (KAI) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year FY2026 EPS guidance was raised above street consensus (guidance 10.50–10.75 vs. consensus ~10.25), signaling stronger full-year profitability expectations. This is a medium-term positive for valuation. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating with a $380 price target, indicating continued analyst confidence above current levels. Barrington Research rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue guidance for FY2026 was essentially in line with estimates (company issued ~$1.2B range in line with consensus), which removes downside from topline expectations but is not a clear upside driver. Press Release / Guidance Details
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance missed materially: management guided to $1.78–1.88 for Q1 versus the $2.26 consensus, creating a near-term earnings growth slowdown that likely prompted the intraday sell-off. Q1 revenue guidance ($270–$280M) was close to consensus but the EPS miss dominates the reaction. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results

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.