Kadant Inc $KAI Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 48.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 38,105 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Kadant were worth $11,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Kadant by 1,300.0% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 84 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kadant in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kadant by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Kadant during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total value of $410,026.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kadant Stock Up 0.0%

KAI stock opened at $311.12 on Monday. Kadant Inc has a 12 month low of $244.87 and a 12 month high of $369.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47 and a beta of 1.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.73. Kadant had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 9.45%.The business had revenue of $281.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Kadant’s payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Kadant in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $341.50.

About Kadant

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.