O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 7,141 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its position in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,141 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Karat Packaging worth $1,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 6,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KRT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair downgraded Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Karat Packaging stock opened at $24.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.10 and a 1-year high of $33.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.72 million, a PE ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.12.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 6.78%. The business had revenue of $101.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.27 million. As a group, analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.22%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 120.81%.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

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.