Kadant (NYSE:KAI) Trading Down 5.1% – What’s Next?

Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI)’s share price traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $302.66 and last traded at $303.99. 78,519 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 125,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.47.

Key Kadant News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kadant this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: GAAP EPS $2.27 vs. $2.19 consensus and revenue $286.2M vs. $274.4M expected — shows near-term execution and demand resilience. Kadant (KAI) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 revenue and improved margins: revenue rose ~11% YoY and margins expanded, supporting stronger profitability going forward. Kadant Posts Record Q4 Revenue and Improves Margins
• Positive Sentiment: FY 2026 EPS guidance raised to $10.50–$10.75, above the Street (~$10.25) — a signal of stronger full-year profitability expectations. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and a $380 price target, indicating some analyst conviction above current levels. Benzinga: Barrington Research Reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: FY revenue guidance roughly $1.2B — essentially in line with expectations, so revenue guidance alone is neither a big positive nor negative surprise. Kadant FY Guidance (press release)
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 EPS guidance missed the Street: company guided $1.780–$1.880 vs. consensus ~$2.26 — a material shortfall that likely drove the intraday decline as it signals near-term softness. Kadant Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guide $270M–$280M is centered near consensus ($272.5M) but the EPS weakness suggests margin or timing issues to monitor. Kadant Q1 Revenue Guidance (press release)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KAI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson set a $295.00 price target on Kadant in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.50.

Kadant Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $312.45 and a 200-day moving average of $304.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.25.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.08. Kadant had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $286.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Kadant has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.780-1.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Erin L. Russell sold 1,435 shares of Kadant 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 sale, the director owned 3,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,715.76. The trade was a 31.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kadant in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kadant by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Numerai GP LLC increased its stake in shares of Kadant by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 18,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,225,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

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.