William Blair Weighs in on Kadant Inc.’s FY2025 Earnings (NYSE:KAI)

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) – Equities research analysts at William Blair issued their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Kadant in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair analyst R. Sparenblek forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $10.90 for the year. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kadant’s current full-year earnings is $10.00 per share.

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. The company had revenue of $248.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.56 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS.

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE KAI opened at $272.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Kadant has a 12-month low of $186.95 and a 12-month high of $354.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $307.75 and a 200 day moving average of $282.83.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Kadant’s payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kadant 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 sale, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $288,087.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kadant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kadant by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 37.0% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings 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 valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in Kadant by 4.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Kadant during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.