Short Interest in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Decreases By 31.6%

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

Karat Packaging Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Karat Packaging stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $26.99. The company had a trading volume of 191,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,377. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $28.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.86. Karat Packaging has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $33.89. The firm has a market cap of $541.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Karat Packaging's payout ratio is 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Karat Packaging news, CEO Alan Yu sold 750,000 shares of Karat Packaging stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $20,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,203,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,502,735. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 10.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Karat Packaging during the 1st quarter worth about $260,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 245,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,529,000 after acquiring an additional 20,262 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Karat Packaging by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 28,565 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Karat Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th.

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.