How to buy Kadant stock (KAI)

Kadant is a specialty industrial machinery business based in the US. Kadant shares (KAI) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $347.07 – a decrease of 6.18% over the previous week. Kadant employs 3,500 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $1 billion.

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Kadant stock price (NYSE: KAI)

Use our graph to track the performance of KAI stocks over time.

Kadant shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2024-12-18.

Latest market close	$347.07
52-week range	$249.00 - $429.95
50-day moving average more info button	$368.64
200-day moving average more info button	$321.36
Wall St. target price	$325.00
PE ratio more info button	36.1116
Dividend yield more info button	$1.25 (0.36%)
Earnings per share (TTM) more info button	$9.77

Is it a good time to buy Kadant stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Kadant price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $351.99 from 2024-12-19

1 week (2024-12-13)	-4.85%
1 month (2024-11-21)	-13.82%
3 months (2024-09-20)	5.71%
6 months (2024-06-21)	23.87%

1 year (2023-12-21)	27.37%
2 years (2022-12-21)	99.10%
3 years (2021-12-21)	61.55%
5 years (2019-12-20)	243.62%

Is Kadant stock undervalued or overvalued?

Valuing Kadant stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Kadant's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Kadant's P/E ratio

Kadant's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 36x. In other words, Kadant shares trade at around 36x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Kadant's PEG ratio

Kadant's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 3.2291. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Kadant's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Kadant's EBITDA

Kadant's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is $226.8 million.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Kadant's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Kadant financials

Revenue TTM	$1 billion
Operating margin TTM	18.65%
Gross profit TTM	$388.4 million
Return on assets TTM	8.6%
Return on equity TTM	14.53%
Profit margin	11.12%
Book value	$72.52
Market Capitalization more info button	$4.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Kadant share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 11.97% of net profits

Recently Kadant has paid out, on average, around 0% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Kadant shareholders could enjoy a 0% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Kadant's case, that would currently equate to about $1.25 per share.

While Kadant's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Kadant is investing more in its future growth.

Kadant's most recent dividend payout was on 5 February 2025. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 8 January 2025 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Kadant's shares ever split?

Kadant's shares were split on a 1:5 basis on 11 July 2001 . So if you had owned 5 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1 share. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Kadant shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 400% higher share price could have impacted the market appetite for Kadant shares which in turn could have impacted Kadant's share price.

Kadant share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Kadant's shares have ranged in value from as little as $249.0025 up to $429.95. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Kadant's is 1.211. This would suggest that Kadant's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Kadant overview

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. The Industrial Processing segment develops, manufactures, and markets ring and rotary debarkers, stranders, chippers, engineered knife systems, industrial automation and control, recycling and approach flow systems, and virgin pulping process equipment for use in the packaging, tissue, wood products, and alternative fuel industries. The Material Handling segment offers conveying and vibratory equipment, and baling products; and manufactures and sells biodegradable absorbent granules for carriers in agricultural, home lawn and garden, professional lawn, turf, and ornamental applications, as well as for oil and grease absorption. The company markets and sells its products, services, and systems through direct sales, independent sales agents, and distributors.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of Kadant is owned by insiders or institutions?
Currently 0.897% of Kadant shares are held by insiders and 113.519% by institutions. How many people work for Kadant?
Latest data suggests 3,500 work at Kadant. When does the fiscal year end for Kadant?
Kadant's fiscal year ends in December. Where is Kadant based?
Kadant's address is: One Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA, United States, 01886 What is Kadant's ISIN number?
Kadant's international securities identification number is: US48282T1043 What is Kadant's CUSIP number?
Kadant's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 88355W105