Kadant (NYSE:KAI) and JBT Marel (NYSE:JBTM) Critical Comparison

JBT Marel (NYSE:JBTM) and Kadant (NYSE:KAI) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of JBT Marel shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Kadant shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of JBT Marel shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Kadant shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

JBT Marel has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kadant has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

JBT Marel pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Kadant pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. JBT Marel pays out 15.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kadant pays out 14.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Kadant has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Kadant is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares JBT Marel and Kadant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JBT Marel	10.25%	10.16%	5.68%
Kadant	10.59%	14.66%	8.33%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for JBT Marel and Kadant, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JBT Marel	0	0	1	0	3.00
Kadant	0	1	2	0	2.67

JBT Marel presently has a consensus target price of $143.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.52%. Kadant has a consensus target price of $355.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.00%. Given JBT Marel’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe JBT Marel is more favorable than Kadant.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares JBT Marel and Kadant”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JBT Marel	$1.72 billion	3.81	$582.60 million	$2.65	47.54
Kadant	$1.05 billion	3.96	$111.60 million	$9.48	37.45

JBT Marel has higher revenue and earnings than Kadant. Kadant is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than JBT Marel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kadant beats JBT Marel on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JBT Marel

JBT Marel Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market. In addition, it offers automated guided vehicle systems for material movement in the manufacturing, warehouse, and medical facilities. It serves baby food, bakery and confectionery, citrus processing, fruits and nuts, juices, non-food, pet food, pharmaceutical, plant- based beverages and protein, poultry, meat, and seafood, ready meals, oils, soups, sauces, seasoning and dressings, automotive, building material, tissue, paper, and packaging, hospitals, pharma and life sciences, fast moving consumer goods, manufacturing, warehousing, and other industries. The company markets and sells its products and solutions through direct sales force, independent distributors, sales representatives, and technical service teams. The company was formerly known as John Bean Technologies Corporation and changed its name to JBT Marel Corporation in January 2025. JBT Marel Corporation was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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. 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. The company was formerly known as Thermo Fibertek, Inc. and changed its name to Kadant Inc. in July 2001. Kadant Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts.