Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KRT. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth $19,840,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the second quarter valued at about $11,129,000. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the second quarter valued at about $7,307,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 8.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 218,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,098,000 after acquiring an additional 17,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $5,337,000. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KRT opened at $54.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.79. Karat Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $55.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.30 and a 200-day moving average of $37.23.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $1.01. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 30.62% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $136.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.46 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 75.20%.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc is a manufacturer and distributor of disposable foodservice products and supplies. The company serves restaurants, cafés, foodservice distributors, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other commercial and institutional customers, primarily in North America.

Its product portfolio includes cups and lids, food containers, plates, bowls, cutlery, straws, napkins, gloves, bags, and related serving and packaging products. Karat Packaging offers products made from materials such as paper, plastic, aluminum, and compostable or other environmentally oriented alternatives, including products marketed under the Karat Earth brand.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Chino, California, the company operates through a combination of manufacturing, sourcing, distribution, and product development activities.