Is Kadant Inc. overvalued or undervalued?

As of 17 October 2025, the valuation grade for Kadant Inc. has moved from fair to expensive, indicating a shift towards overvaluation. The company appears overvalued based on its current P/E ratio of 44, which is significantly higher than the industry average, and an EV to EBITDA ratio of 23.20, also above many peers. Additionally, the Price to Book Value stands at 5.57, further supporting the notion of overvaluation when compared to the market.
In terms of peer comparison, Kadant Inc. has a higher P/E ratio than John Bean Technologies Corp. at -236.68 and ESAB Corp. at 24.12, which are both positioned more favorably in the market. The recent stock performance shows that while Kadant Inc. outperformed the S&P 500 in the short term with a 10.81% return over the past week, it has underperformed over the longer term, with a year-to-date return of -12.46% compared to the S&P 500's 13.30%. This discrepancy reinforces the view that Kadant Inc. is currently overvalued.