Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $254.65 and last traded at $254.8850, with a volume of 94787 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $262.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KAI. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $340.00.

Kadant Trading Down 1.1%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $290.90 and a 200-day moving average of $312.38. The company has a current ratio of 9.39, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65 and a beta of 1.24.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $271.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.17 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 9.050-9.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 8th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 15.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.41, for a total transaction of $140,440.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,438,242.50. This trade represents a 8.90% 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. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 699 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.91, for a total value of $186,570.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,544.31. This represents a 37.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kadant during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,019,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 249.0% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 160,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,175,000 after acquiring an additional 114,732 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kadant by 9.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,332,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,961,000 after acquiring an additional 114,310 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Kadant by 519.2% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 80,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,181,000 after purchasing an additional 67,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Kadant by 141.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,670,000 after purchasing an additional 58,382 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.