Sifting through countless of stocks in the Machinery industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Helios Technologies, Inc. or Kadant Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc.

Helios Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered motion control and electronic controls technology solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through two segments; Hydraulics and Electronics. The Hydraulics segment designs and manufactures hydraulic motion control and fluid conveyance technology products, including cartridge valves, manifolds, and quick release couplings, as well as engineers complete hydraulic system solutions. This segment sells its products under the Sun Hydraulics, Faster, NEM, Taimi, Daman, and Schultes brands. The Electronics segment designs and manufactures customized electronic controls systems, displays, wire harnesses, and software solutions. This segment sells its products under Enovation Controls, Murphy, Zero Off, HCT, Balboa Water Group, i3PD and Cygnus Reach and Joyonway brands. It markets and sells hydraulic products and engineered solutions through value-added distributors, as well as directly to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); and electronic products to OEMs, distributors, and system integrators. It serves construction, material handling, agriculture, industrial, mobile, energy, recreational vehicles, marine, aerospace, and health and wellness sectors. The company was formerly known as Sun Hydraulics Corporation and changed its name to Helios Technologies, Inc. in June 2019. Helios Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida.

Kadant Inc. supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems, equipment, and integrated technologies, such as rotary joints, syphons, Turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems, as well as doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning showers and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems. The Industrial Processing segment provides ring and rotary debarkers, stranders, chippers, engineered knife systems, and industrial automation and control products. This segment also offers recycling and approach flow systems, virgin pulping process equipment, boiler cleaning technologies, and single and double-screw presses. The Material Handling segment provides vibratory and conveying equipment; individual components and equipment for baling recyclable and waste materials; and fiber-based products. It sells its products and services 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.

Latest Machinery and Helios Technologies, Inc., Kadant Inc. Stock News

As of April 23, 2026, Helios Technologies, Inc. had a $2.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $3.9 million. Helios Technologies, Inc.’s stock is up 27.7% in 2026, down 0.7% in the previous five trading days and up 156.65% in the past year.

Currently, Helios Technologies, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 47.1. Helios Technologies, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $839.0 million with a 5.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.780 per share for the current fiscal year. Helios Technologies, Inc. currently has a 0.7% dividend yield.

As of April 23, 2026, Kadant Inc. had a $3.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 64th percentile of all stocks. Kadant Inc.’s stock is up 10.6% in 2026, down 5% in the previous five trading days and up 10.86% in the past year.

Currently, Kadant Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 37.8. Kadant Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 9.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.575 per share for the current fiscal year. Kadant Inc. currently has a 0.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Helios Technologies, Inc.	HLIO	D
Kadant Inc.	KAI	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Helios Technologies, Inc. has a Value Score of 33, which is Expensive. Kadant Inc. has a Value Score of 22, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Helios Technologies, Inc. or Kadant Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Helios Technologies, Inc. or Kadant Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Helios Technologies, Inc.	HLIO	B
Kadant Inc.	KAI	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Helios Technologies, Inc. has a Growth Score of 78, which is Strong. Kadant Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Kadant Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Kadant Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Helios Technologies, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Kadant Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Helios Technologies, Inc.	HLIO	C
Kadant Inc.	KAI	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Helios Technologies, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 60, which is Neutral. Kadant Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 66, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Kadant Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Kadant Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Helios Technologies, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Kadant Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Helios Technologies, Inc. or Kadant Inc. Stock?

Overall, Helios Technologies, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 33, Growth Score of 78 and Estimate Revisions Score of 60.

Kadant Inc. stock has a Value Score of 22, Growth Score of 83 and Estimate Revisions Score of 66.

Comparing Helios Technologies, Inc. and Kadant Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.