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Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.
KadantKAI +1.53%87 Cash-to-Debt is 0.26 as of Jun. 2026, which is 19% below its 10-year median of 0.32. GuruFocus rates KAI with a GF Score™ of 87/100 and a GF Value™ of $348.78 (Modestly Undervalued). The stock has 5 warning signs investors should review. Among 3,044 Industrial Products companies, Kadant ranks worse than 80.22% on this metric.
Cash to Debt Ratio measures the financial strength of a company. It is calculated as a company's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities divide by its debt. Kadant's cash to debt ratio for the quarter that ended in Jun. 2026 was 0.26.
If Cash to Debt ratio is less than 1, the company cannot pay off its debt using the cash in hand. Here we can see, Kadantcouldn't pay off its debt using the cash in hand for the quarter that ended in Jun. 2026.
The historical rank and industry rank for Kadant's Cash-to-Debt or its related term are showing as below:
KAI'
s Cash-to-Debt Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.15 Med: 0.32 Max: 1.31
Current: 0.26
During the past 13 years, Kadant's highest Cash to Debt Ratio was 1.31. The lowest was 0.15. And the median was 0.32.
KAI's Cash-to-Debt is ranked worse than 80.22% of 3044
companies
in the Industrial Products industry
Industry Median: 1.175
vs KAI: 0.26
If Cash to Debt ratio is greater than 1, the company can pay off its debt using the cash in hand. If it is smaller than 1, it means the company has more debt than the cash in hands. In this case, it is important to look the the company's Interest Coverage. Ben Graham requires that a company must have an Interest Coverage of at least 5.
Kadant Cash-to-Debt Related Terms
Kadant Cash-to-Debt Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Kadant's Cash-to-Debt can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Note: An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.
For the Specialty Industrial Machinery subindustry, Kadant's Cash-to-Debt, along with its competitors' market caps and Cash-to-Debt data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Kadant Cash-to-Debt vs Industrial Products Industry
For the Industrial Products industry and Industrials sector, Kadant's Cash-to-Debt distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Kadant's Cash-to-Debt falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Kadant (KAI) has a Cash-to-Debt of 0.26 as of Jun. 2026. This is 19% below median its historical median of 0.32. Over the past decade, Kadant's Cash-to-Debt has ranged from 0.15 to 1.31. According to the industry distribution chart, Kadant ranks #2442 out of 3044 companies in the Industrial Products industry, placing it in the top 80.2%.
Is Kadant's Cash-to-Debt too high?
Kadant's current Cash-to-Debt of 0.26 is 19% below median its 10-year median of 0.32. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.15 to a high of 1.31. The Industrial Products industry median Cash-to-Debt is 1.18. Kadant's value of 0.26 is 77.9% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Kadant ranks #2442 out of 3044 companies in the Industrial Products industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Kadant has a GF Score™ of 87/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Kadant's Cash-to-Debt compare to SXI and MWA?
According to the Industrial Products industry distribution chart, Kadant ranks #2442 out of 3044 companies for Cash-to-Debt. This places Kadant in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Cash-to-Debt is 1.18. Kadant's value of 0.26 is 77.9% below this benchmark. Historically, Kadant's own Cash-to-Debt has ranged from 0.15 to 1.31 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 0.32 vs. the industry median of 1.18, Kadant has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Cash-to-Debt for an Industrial Products company?
The median Cash-to-Debt among Industrial Products companies is 1.18, based on 3,044 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Cash-to-Debt significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Cash-to-Debt should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Kadant's current Cash-to-Debt of 0.26 is 77.9% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Cash-to-Debt mean?
A high Cash-to-Debt can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. For the Industrial Products industry, the median Cash-to-Debt is 1.18 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Kadant's current Cash-to-Debt is 0.26, which is 19% below median its own 10-year median of 0.32. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Kadant stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kadant (KAI) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $348.78, compared to a current price of $314.37 — trading 9.9% below its estimated fair value. The current Cash-to-Debt is 0.26, which is 19% below median its 10-year median of 0.32 and 77.9% below the Industrial Products industry median of 1.18. Kadant's overall GF Score™ is 87/100 with 5 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Cash-to-Debt calculated?
Cash-to-Debt is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Kadant (KAI), the current Cash-to-Debt is 0.26 as of Jun. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Kadant (KAI) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Kadant stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $314.37 is trading 9.9% below its estimated GF Value™ of $348.78.
GuruFocus considers Kadant to be Modestly Undervalued.
Key valuation signals for KAI:
Cash-to-Debt: 0.26 (19% below median its 10-year median of 0.32)
GF Value™: $348.78 vs. price of $314.37 (9.9% below fair value)
Industry Position: 77.9% below the Industrial Products median (#2442 of 3044)
No single metric tells the full story. See the KAI stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Kadant Inc. supplies process and engineering equipment for papermaking, recycling, lumber manufacturing, and related industries. The company's three reportable segments are the Flow Control segment which consists of the fluid-handling and doctoring, cleaning, & filtration product lines; the Industrial Processing segment which consists of the wood processing and stock-preparation product lines; and Material handling systems, which provides conveyor-belt equipment for industries such as mining, food processing, and packaging. The company has a geographic presence in the U.S., China, Asia, Germany, Canada, and Others.
87GF Score
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