Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $16.10 Million Position in Kadant Inc $KAI

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Kadant Inc (NYSE:KAI) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,827 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.47% of Kadant worth $16,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kadant by 11.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Kadant by 8.6% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kadant by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 30,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In other news, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 1,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.17, for a total value of $410,026.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $455,473.71. The trade was a 47.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Kadant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Kadant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kadant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $341.50.

Kadant Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of KAI stock opened at $308.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $311.62 and a 200-day moving average of $314.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Kadant Inc has a 12-month low of $244.87 and a 12-month high of $369.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 1.20.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $281.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.95 million. Kadant had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Kadant has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.880-2.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.330-12.680 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kadant Inc will post 12.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

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.