Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Short Interest Down 31.6% in May

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 104,800 shares, a drop of 31.6% from the May 15th total of 153,200 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 47,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Karat Packaging Stock Down 0.2%

KRT stock opened at $26.85 on Tuesday. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $23.00 and a fifty-two week high of $33.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.19 and a 200-day moving average of $29.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.12. The company has a market capitalization of $539.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan Yu sold 750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $20,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,203,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,502,735. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 66.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRT. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 4,151.4% during the 1st 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. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Karat Packaging by 773.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Karat Packaging by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Karat Packaging by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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