Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 8,837 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) by 32.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,847 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,837 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Karat Packaging worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 12.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 7,911 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $436,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Karat Packaging by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,262 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Karat Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Karat Packaging Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of KRT traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.97. The stock had a trading volume of 72,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $621.26 million, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 1.12. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.00 and a 1-year high of $33.89.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $101.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.27 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 19.84%. Sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. Karat Packaging's payout ratio is 120.00%.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

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.