Kadant Inc. Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $2.43 Per Share (NYSE:KAI)

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) – Equities researchers at Barrington Research cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Kadant in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 2nd. Barrington Research analyst G. Prestopino now expects that the industrial products company will earn $2.43 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.53. Barrington Research currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kadant’s current full-year earnings is $10.00 per share. Barrington Research also issued estimates for Kadant’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.65 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.63 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.90 EPS.

Separately, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

Kadant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $281.00 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $307.75 and a 200 day moving average of $283.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Kadant has a twelve month low of $186.99 and a twelve month high of $354.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.42. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $248.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total value of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 7.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Kadant by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 1,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kadant

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.