Inspire Investing LLC Buys 40,830 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT

Key Points

• Inspire Investing nearly tripled its Karat Packaging stake in the third quarter, buying 40,830 additional shares to own 61,286 shares valued at approximately $3.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 25.2% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate the stock a Buy, two a Hold and one a Sell, resulting in an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $47.
• Karat Packaging reported quarterly earnings of $1.48 per share, surpassing the $0.47 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $136.3 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.47 per share, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) by 199.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,286 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,830 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC owned 0.31% of Karat Packaging worth $3,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the third quarter valued at about $211,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 35.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 185,066 shares of the company's stock worth $9,725,000 after buying an additional 48,906 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the third quarter worth about $106,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Karat Packaging from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, 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, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Karat Packaging currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.00.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of KRT stock opened at $53.00 on Friday. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $56.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.79. 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's fifty day moving average price is $50.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.04.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $1.01. The firm had revenue of $136.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.46 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 30.62%. On average, equities analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 2.63 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is an increase from Karat Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Karat Packaging's payout ratio is presently 75.20%.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc is a foodservice packaging company that manufactures and distributes disposable products for restaurants, cafés, convenience stores, supermarkets, institutional foodservice providers and other businesses. The company is headquartered in Chino, California, and serves customers primarily across North America through its distribution and manufacturing operations.

Its product portfolio includes paper and plastic cups, food containers, lids, cutlery, straws, gloves, napkins, bags and other supplies used for food preparation, packaging and takeout service.

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