Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Decreased by William Blair

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) – William Blair dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Kadant in a report released on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair analyst R. Sparenblek now expects that the industrial products company will earn $2.47 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.70. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kadant’s current full-year earnings is $9.96 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Kadant’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.66 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.54 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $10.05 EPS.

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Stock Performance

Shares of KAI stock opened at $272.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $308.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 1.30. Kadant has a 12 month low of $186.95 and a 12 month high of $354.02.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Kadant’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share.

Kadant Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kadant

In other Kadant news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total transaction of $288,087.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,587,814.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kadant

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kadant during the third quarter valued at $110,849,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Kadant by 1,578.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after purchasing an additional 69,766 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Kadant by 137.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,028,000 after purchasing an additional 47,618 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Kadant by 2,082.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 40,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,312,000 after buying an additional 38,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Kadant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,917,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kadant Company Profile

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.