11,371 Shares in Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Karat Packaging by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 107,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 50,178 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the first quarter valued at approximately $437,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 8.1% in the first quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,077,000 after buying an additional 24,405 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 97,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,708,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $678,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $49.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.61 and a 1 year high of $50.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.86. The stock has a market cap of $978.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.82.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $1.01. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 30.62%. The business had revenue of $136.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.46 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 2.63 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, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 75.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KRT. Weiss Ratings raised Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair raised shares of Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.50.

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.