Trexquant Investment LP Increases Position in Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Karat Packaging Inc. by 112.3% in the first quarter, owning a total of 24,698 shares valued at approximately $656,000.
• Karat Packaging recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 7.1%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Karat Packaging, with an average target price of $31.67.

Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) by 112.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,698 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,062 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.12% of Karat Packaging worth $656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 4,151.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 8.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 34,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 16,371 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 23.0% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 56,330 shares of the company's stock worth $1,705,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Karat Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.67.

Karat Packaging Stock Down 3.3%

KRT traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 61,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,874. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.00 and a 1 year high of $33.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.56 and its 200-day moving average is $27.55.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio is 113.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Karat Packaging news, CEO Alan Yu sold 112,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $3,037,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,091,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,465,235. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 66.20% of the company's stock.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.