Kadant Inc $KAI Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,111 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Kadant were worth $13,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Kadant by 1,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the second quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 89.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kadant during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Stock Down 0.0%

KAI opened at $286.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.26. Kadant Inc has a fifty-two week low of $244.87 and a fifty-two week high of $369.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.61. Kadant had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 9.69%.The firm had revenue of $286.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company’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, research analysts expect that Kadant Inc will post 9.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 15.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KAI has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. DA Davidson set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kadant in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kadant has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.