Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT

Key Points

• Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its Karat Packaging stake by 40.3% in Q1, buying 43,451 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 151,181 shares, worth about $4.22 million.
• Karat Packaging reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.34 versus the $0.32 estimate and revenue of $116.95 million versus the $112.98 million forecast.
• The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 5.0%, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $36.50 price target.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) by 40.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,181 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,451 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned approximately 0.76% of Karat Packaging worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KRT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 28,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the first quarter worth about $219,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 921.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,203 shares of the company's stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 30,855 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 22,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $35.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.50 million, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.85. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $36.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.41.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $116.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $112.98 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 19.87%. On average, analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on KRT. Bank of America raised their target price on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Karat Packaging to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Karat Packaging from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Karat Packaging has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.