Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Karat Packaging from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America set a $24.00 price objective on Karat Packaging and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 1.7%

KRT opened at $28.17 on Friday. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $32.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.04. The company has a market cap of $562.27 million, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.09.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.06. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $115.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.95 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Karat Packaging will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 115.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,037,000 after purchasing an additional 51,179 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 330,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,320,000 after buying an additional 10,617 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 322,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,131,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 314,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,089,000 after buying an additional 114,204 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: KRT) is a U.S.-based provider of premium packaging solutions for consumer goods and industrial products. The company specializes in the design, manufacture and delivery of high-quality litho-laminated folding cartons, tubes and flexible packaging. Karat Packaging operates an integrated production model that combines prepress, printing, converting and finishing capabilities to support the branding and shelf-appeal needs of its customers.

The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including food and beverage, confectionery, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and promotional packaging.