Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 2,255 Shares of Kadant Inc $KAI

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.61% of Kadant worth $21,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KAI. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 49.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its holdings in Kadant by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 2,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 18.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant in the first quarter valued at about $2,756,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Kadant by 290.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Kadant News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Second-quarter revenue rose 23% year over year to approximately $312.9 million, exceeding the $299.2 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $3.42 also surpassed expectations of $2.94 and increased from $2.31 a year ago. Kadant Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy operating trends: Bookings increased 16% to $312.1 million, backlog reached $340 million, and operating cash flow rose 32% to $53.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $68.1 million, or 21.8% of revenue, supporting the view that demand remains solid. Kadant Q2 Revenue Rises to Record $313 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year outlook raised: Kadant increased its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $12.43-$12.68, above the prior outlook and the $11.55 analyst consensus, indicating management expects strong profitability for the year. Kadant Raises 2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Margin pressure: Gross margin declined to 43.8% from 45.9% a year earlier, partially offsetting the impact of higher sales and earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance missed estimates: Kadant forecast third-quarter revenue of $297 million-$307 million and EPS of $2.90-$3.00, below analyst expectations of $311.8 million and $3.29, respectively. The shortfall may limit further upside despite the strong quarter and improved full-year profit outlook. Kadant Q2 Results and Guidance

Insider Transactions at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total transaction of $410,026.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $455,473.71. This represents a 47.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kadant Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:KAI opened at $336.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $306.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.06. Kadant Inc has a 1 year low of $244.87 and a 1 year high of $357.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $312.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.17 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 9.52%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Kadant has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.430-12.680 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 EPS for the current year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KAI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kadant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.50.

Kadant 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.