Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $28.94, but opened at $27.75. Karat Packaging shares last traded at $26.60, with a volume of 20,356 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $95.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 74.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRT. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Karat Packaging Trading Down 5.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $546.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.15.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.